Philips Lighting first lighting company to “elluminate” the way forward for Omni-channel retail

With the increase in operating costs and growing competition in e-commerce, Singapore’s retailers are realising the importance of leveraging omni-channel retail strategies to bring new and better experiences to today’s shoppers.

Philips Lighting, a global leader in lighting, has become the first lighting solutions provider to announce the launch of a ‘chatbot’ on their local Facebook page, allowing users to purchase Philips Lighting’s suite of consumer products conversationally through Facebook’s messenger platform.

Facebook’s users will now be able to get round-the-clock assistance in making their lighting purchase decisions just by interacting with the chatbot on the Facebook Messenger system. The chatbot responds with product recommendations based on the user’s inputs to the chat and allows users to make their purchase directly on the platform itself.

Besides being the first lighting provider to officially launch a Facebook Messenger Bot, this is also one of the initiatives undertaken by the company for its LEDs Get Smart campaign, aimed at educating consumers on the benefits of installing the right lights at home. Under this campaign, Philips Lighting has also partnered with Lazada Singapore to launch its “first ever specialty e-store” on the e-commerce platform.

These initiatives are borne from Philips Lighting’s desire to capture the local e-commerce market. A joint report by Temasek Holdings and Google has revealed that the e-commerce market in Singapore is expected to be worth US$5.4 billion (S$7.4 billion) by 2025, and is expected to make up 6.7 per cent of all retail sales in Singapore. As e-commerce gain traction and become a big contributor to the omni-channel retail trend, the firm aims to stay ahead of the game by becoming the first lighting company to tap into this growing segment. The move is also in line with the government’s plans, as revealed in the recent budget announcement, to promote digitalisation in the retail sector.

Alok Ghose, Managing Director and Cluster Leader for Philips Lighting in Singapore, Malaysia and Exports said: “The partnership with Facebook and Lazada Singapore will serve as an excellent opportunity for Philips Lighting to tap onto the growing e-commerce market segment to unlock new business revenue. These platforms will enable us to bring  light beyond illumination to Singaporean households, connecting their home lighting systems to the Internet of Things, a viable first step in building homes in a Smart Nation.”