CLOBBERED by the crushing effects of the coronavirus pandemic, thousands of retailers from Bangkok to Singapore have rushed to set up online shops on big e-commerce platforms to stay afloat this year. Now entire shopping malls are going virtual for the first time.

Marina Square Shopping Mall — nestled among luxury hotels and popular tourist attractions in central Singapore — is taking more than 30 of its tenants online with Lazada, the Southeast Asian unit of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. It’s the first shopping center in the city-state to create a mini virtual replica of its physical mall.

“It’s a new concept in Singapore,” James Chang, chief executive officer of Lazada Singapore, said in an interview. With Lazada, Marina Square is seeking “a balance of online and offline opportunities,” said Lim Hock San, CEO of Marina Centre Holdings Pte. “The online exposure we give to our tenants will benefit them and help support brand awareness.”

The lockdowns have meant devastating changes for the retail industry. In the United States, more than 110 companies have declared bankruptcy this year, including J.C. Penney Co., Neiman Marcus Group Inc. and J. Crew Group Inc.

Retailers in Southeast Asia are experimenting with new business models to adapt. The region’s e-commerce industry is relatively young and fast-growing, compared to the United States.

Marina Square’s move follows similar moves by Siam Center, a landmark shopping mall in Bangkok built in the 1970s, which teamed up with Lazada to set up its virtual mall with about 40 tenants. In Indonesia, more than 100 tenants of three malls by developer Pakuwon Group are going live on Lazada.

(SD-Agencies)