Familiar, aren’t they?
Our main topic of discussion will be our very own NTUC FairPrice. Reason being, it has the most number of branches in Singapore and probably makes the most use of e-commerce as compared to its other counterparts, based on its size and variable forms in our country. We will discuss more along the way.
Past: In May 1983, amidst growing competition and the need to be more efficient in costs, NTUC merged with another government-based brand, with its original mission to stabilise the prices of essential consumer products and to become the people's supermarket.
Present: It has continuously revolutionise its business to remain in the forefront of retail technology and innovation, and remain responsive to the changing environment and customers' needs.
Its Mission:
‘Best Place to Work’
Most importantly and proudly to mention:
It is a highly trusted brand, winning itself prestigious awards in consecutive years, just like this one:
Purpose and Design:
Based on our findings, FairPrice has launched its online shopping and customers can now conveniently purchase their daily necessities at home, just by a click of the mouse. This is the magic of e-commerce, one does not even have to do their grocery-shopping personally. It is hassle-free!
Just ask for it and you will have it:
In this competitive market, daily products have become very price sensitive. Shoppers compare prices and will choose the cheapest and best out of their comparisons. There is an amazing design of the website that exactly speaks into our hearts: We are able to type the product we want (eg. Rice, shampoo, etc) in the search engine and the list of different brands of our specified product will appear. Best of all, the prices are even made available to us! Here goes:
Save the trouble:
There is more than meets the eye. The webpage is even able to help us save costs by telling us the products in store that are currently having a promotion. We can enjoy this luxury, together with all other products added to cart, to be delivered right to our doorstep:
Orders Received | |
Before 9:30 a.m. | a) Same day delivery between 2:00pm to 9:00pm |
After 9:30 a.m. | a) Next working day between 2:00pm to 9: |
Order Amount | Charges |
$80 and below | S$8.00(Excluding GST) |
Above $80 | S$5 (Excluding GST) |
Bulk Order | Call to Enquire |
Other benefits:
Features:
FairPrice Online is a B2C virtual storefront website that provides online shopping services. It complements its brick&mortar operations by allowing transactions to be carried out in minutes without having to step out of our house.The layout of the web page is user friendly in the sense that consumers are able to shop via a simple click into a category where the wanted items fall in. For example, mummy buying baby’s products can simply click the Baby/Kids Corner’s icon to browse for the product. For consumers who have items in mind, can simply use the search bar to locate the item. Thinking of which product is cheaper? With the price revealed in the page, consumers are able to make comparison to aid in their decision making. Availability of products is also made known which avoid the situation in which item cannot be found in store.
Not only so, the website is constantly updated with latest information on the new arrivals. Users no longer need to get down to the stores in person to get the information.
FairPrice also make used of incentive features to keep its competitiveness. For example, LinkPoints system is implemented which allows redemption of your LinkPoints for attractive gifts at FairPrice and Cheers. For minimum pirchase of $20 in a single receipt, you can earn 2 points for every $1 spent.
Payment Scheme:
One of the key reasons for online shopping is to reduce the hassle of queuing and having troublesome paying procedure over the payment counter. Hence, payment modes have to be “hassle-free” to attract users.
For online transaction, credit card online payment is available. Customers may also opt for cash/cheque on delivery.For transaction over the counter, cash/net/credit card payment will be made available. LinkPoints system is applicable over the counter.
Potential:
Throughout the years, FairPrice has been constantly changing its way of management, starting from a single store in Toa Payoh, to a huge industry ventured into new formats and services in recent years, such as Cheers Convenience Stores, FairPrice Xpress, FairPrice Homemart, FairPrice Online, FairPrice Xtra and FairPrice Finest. FairPrice also caters to increasingly popular niche markets. With it's growing popularity, there is definitely potential for it to progress into a global market. Perhaps 24 Hrs delivery service could be made available to serve customers even at night. This can cater to consumers who usually work in the day and could only afford to shop for grocery at night. Using Carrefour as reference, FairPrice may consider working towards being a hypermarket to increase their range and variety of products.
Strengths:
-It has moved from the ‘flow of places’ to the ‘flow of spaces’ by providing online shopping, as compared to the the brick and mortar environment of some of its competitors ( eg. Sheng Siong and Carrefour).
-It is user-friendly. People can easily check all information on products, services, etc online. For instance, the ways to make online purchases are presented in plain lay-man language and is, most of the time, self-explanatory.
-Shoppers are able to compare prices among brand
-Shoppers are prompted on products that are on promotion, thus saving costs for them.
-Buyers can request for home delivery of all their purchases, rather than having to carry their buys themselves, all with the advantage of technology.
-A sense of familiarity is forged as other information like membership and job opportunities are available, enabling shoppers to be part of the big ‘family’.
Weakness:
-As internet made price comparison possible, it is not unusual to find an online supermarket which sell products at a cheaper rate than FairPrice. For example, A bag of Calbee Potato Chips (80G) cost 20 cents more in FairPrice than in Cold Storage.
- Inevitable that perishable goods may not be as fresh as what expected. Users are given the option to choose the quantity of products not the quality.
- Communication may be obstructed as transactions are made using machine without the need of having people to communicate.
-Incentives implemented by competitors may prove to be more attractive than those implemented by FairPrice
- Variety of products is limited. Competitors like Carrefour invested in imported products and provide consumers with more choices of brand for a product.
Security and Privacy:
With the increasing population of users accessing to online facilities, problems like hacking of users’ accounts is becoming more and more prevalent. There is definitely a need to ensure that shoppers are able to shop at ease. This will have great impact on online sale if security is not covered.
Fairprice Co-operative Ltd & NTUC Income Insurance Co-operative Ltd strive to protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of all customer data against errors, sabotage, fraud and breach of privacy. All users of the company are responsible and accountable for the security of the information within their areas of responsibilities. Not only so, information regarding each consumer is not revealed except to provide products or services requested. These policies will ensure users that online shopping will be as safe as patronizing the stores.
Conclusion:
E-commerce has indeed brought about a lot of convenience to our lives. With the advancements of technology, people are only one click away from what they need to purchase via the internet. Most of all, they can have all their goods delivered directly to them without even the need to move away from their couch. Gone were the days when the only way to buy groceries was to travel and to come back with heavy bags of buys. Transactions have now become hassle-free and are even able to go ‘cashless’. This is an extreme benefit to our busy and fast-paced lifestyle, where time is money. Such transactions that do not require mere presence seemed almost impossible probably silghtly a decade ago. So, what more can we expect this amazing creation to bring to us in future? Perhaps it will be beyond our ordinary imagination!
END
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