SPH Buzz hybrid store has self-service option

Convenience-shopping concept company SPH Buzz has partnered with Mastercard to launch a hybrid store that includes attended and unattended retail counters.

As part of the deal, SPH Buzz has integrated Mastercard’s mobile commerce platform, Vending Powered by Masterpass, in its unattended machines to enable customers to seamlessly order and pay for goods using their smart devices.

At the Cnergy Gas Station in Toh Tuck Road, the 827sqft (77sqm) Buzz hybrid convenience store has 16 vending machines. Buzz customers can buy from the machines using Masterpass on their smart device. This is a secure digital payment service by Mastercard that speeds up the checkout process without consumers having to enter their financial and shipping information every time.

Made by Auresys, the vending machines can dispense beverages (hot or cold), ready-to-eat meals, snacks and confectionary, specialty foods (imported from Japan), beauty and over-the-counter (OTC) medication, and novelty and lifestyle options such as activity trackers, electronic accessories, pre-packed presents and mystery gifts.

Cafe with snacks

Also available at the store is a cafe with local snacks and artisanal bread.

“With the introduction of the automated station, I can now focus on providing a more interpersonal customer service and experience at the cafe,” says Buzz hybrid franchisee Audrey Joan Yap.

To complete the shopping experience, customers will soon be able to buy such prepaid services as phone top-up cards, tickets to tourist attractions such as Gardens by the Bay, River Safari, Singapore Zoo and Universal Studio, as well as Google and Xbox stored-value cards. Other services such as FOC Wi-Fi, cash withdrawal via smartphone, reloading of EZ-Link cards, and Nets and Nets FlashPay are also available.

SPH Buzz Convenience Stores deputy-GM Spencer Tan says that as well as offering round-the-clock service, the hybrid store has a backend system that helps forecast demand and alerts the staff to replenishments. “This helps the team to be more productive given the current manpower crunch,” he says.

SPH Buzz runs a chain of retail kiosks and newsstands at bus interchanges, bus shelters, MRT stations, shopping malls and heartland areas. Started in 2007 as a franchise model, it has 59 stores island-wide.