It’s a way to drive foot traffic to their malls
SM Prime Holdings will be launching their own shopping platform in a year to compete with the e-commerce sites already in the Philippines, according to a report.
The new initiative will be following a click and collect model, where customers will buy products from SM’s online portal, select a store (or mall) closest to them and they hoof it over there to pick up their item. It’s a bit like Best Buy’s in-store pickup service in the US.
“We’re gonna formalize the setup of the platform within the year. We will come up with a legal entity for that,” SM Prime Chief Finance Officer John Nai Peng C. Ong told reporters after the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Pasay City last week.
SM is the leader when it comes to sheer amount of malls in the Philippines with around 63 locations around the country, with more going up every single day. Click & Collect leverages on those locations and allays the fears of most people when shopping online. They have a diverse number of retailers on tap as well, and since you’ll be picking up your stuff in the store, it’ll have the usual warranty attached to it, can be returned if it’s not the right size, and can be picked up the same day you order it (if it’s available in the store).
As for deliveries straight to your door, that’s not yet in the cards for SM.
“We have yet to work toward delivery. Potential din yun because we have affiliate companies that can deliver. But our work is toward click mo and collect sa malls. So we’re trying to set up specific areas in the malls,” Ong added.
If SM does this right, they can dominate the online space that’s currently being fought over by both Lazada and Shopee. SM has one of the biggest warehouses in the Philippines, is a known and trusted household name, has the advertising budget to pummel opponents with non-stop ads in their retail locations and already has payment gateways in place via BDO.
