Singapore will be the first offshore location for Australian consumer electronics product information platform Product Lighthouse.
Singapore has been identified because of the sophistication of the domestic market, the high demand for electronic goods, and the close level of integration with neighboring countries.
Product Lighthouse acts as a bridge between vendor product content and retailer product information systems. Through Product Lighthouse, information authored by vendors can be readily made available for retailer websites, catalogues, staff training and in-store tickets.
The launch of Product Lighthouse Singapore is slated for the second half of 2016, with discussions underway now with leading retailers and manufacturers.
Retailers have an opportunity to increase sales and retain customers
Consumer research conducted by Product Lighthouse shows consumers are hungry for product information – but they are often not getting it from store staff or online. Research undertaken by Product Lighthouse showed that.
- 87% of consumers say they leave a website and go elsewhere when they encounter poor quality or missing product
- 64% of consumers say they would be less likely to purchase from a retailer who provided incomplete product
CEO Chris Grannell said “Most of us have visited a store and found staff unable to answer our questions. Even though most consumers purchase electronic goods in a physical store, the growing significance of the Internet in the product discovery process means that comprehensive and accurate information online is essential.”
Singapore audit reveals product information gaps
Product Lighthouse undertook an audit of product information on retail websites in Singapore and found many inaccuracies and information gaps.
Grannell said: “In Singapore our audit has shown some astonishing inaccuracies, such as incorrect specifications, key attributes missing, wrong weights and sizes. We even found one website that had a laptop listed with a gender! “
“These things happen because content is transferred from manufacturers to retailers through a manual process. Even with the most conscientious staff, mistakes will happen. Added to that, the nature of this industry means that information is not available all at once which means that it is more of a drip feed and less of a single transfer. Never before has there been a system that can accommodate this process and facilitate the collaboration around this data”
Product Lighthouse is designed with low-fi integration in mind
Gex Cheng, CTO of Product Lighthouse, said “Our technology platform can be thought of as an API layer between manufacturers and retailers. But ‘making things easy’ is part of our DNA, so we’ve created the ability for retailers to export content in customised spreadsheets that can be loaded into their systems. We’ve also invested heavily in collaboration tools and in the ability to read output from all kinds of manufacturer databases and libraries.”
Cheng continued, “I always like to remind our users that our approach is to ensure our software fits to your workflow rather than changing it.”
Discussions taking place now
Cheng and Grannell will be spending time in Singapore during April, when Product Lighthouse will also be showcased at the Tech in Asia expo at Suntec Convention Centre. Grannell said “We are encouraged by the current focus on productivity by the retail sector in Singapore. Programs such as the Capability Development Grants from SPRING show that government and industry alike are keen to invest in productivity, marketing and customer service.”