Central Dept Store earmarks B1 bn over 5 years to grow online presence

The move is in line with Central Group’s vision, “Digital Centrality”, to integrate digital technology into all aspects of its business operations. 
Central Department Store says it has also initiated the “Central 4.0” strategy to reinforce the company’s position as the top retailer in customers’ minds and offer them seamless shopping experiences both online and offline. 
Piyawan Leelasompop, executive vice president for marketing at Central Department Store Co, said the chain wanted to increase the contribution from online shopping significantly, from about 1 per cent of sales currently to 5 per cent by the end of this year, to 10 per cent by the end of 2018, and up to 15 per cent in five years.
Once the transition of the digital platform is complete in five years, Central Department Store aims to attract 3 million transactions per annum through online shopping.
Central Department Store posted Bt47 billion in total sales last year, up 4.3 per cent over 2015. The company did not open any new stores last year. However, it will open its 23rd outlet in Nakhon Ratchasima this year, and make a major facelift of its existing store on Rama III Road in Bangkok. 
“We will also gradually increase the number of product items to be available online from 100,000 currently to about 500,000 over the next five years,” Piyawan said.
She said the company would shift its advertising budget, set at between Bt1.5 billion and Bt1.7 billion this year, from traditional media such as print to digital media, especially Facebook ads and blockers. The proportion of digital media in the company’s advertising expenditure will increase significantly from only 7 per cent last year to 25 per cent this year, and up to 50 per cent within five years. 
She said today’s consumers were not only tech-savvy but also information-savvy through online use, so it has become a challenge for business operators in all sectors to keep up and try to meet their needs.
“Consumers nowadays are greatly influenced by online information. Although the proportion of online purchases is still small compared with offline, the fact is consumers start by looking for information on domestic and international websites as well as through social-networking platforms where they can be informed about the latest trends and products from around the globe. 
“It means connecting to the world is not difficult any more, as opposed to the past when we usually got product information from advertisements or sales personnel,” Piyawan said.
“Moreover, consumers today not only want just products and services, they want an experience that is trendy or trend-setting and they want convenience, speed and personalised care. All of these have led to our ‘Central 4.0’ strategy to bring all Central branches into the digital world, providing a full range of products and services for our customers by making use of technological innovations to make shopping an easiest and most convenient activity.” 
She said the Central 4.0 strategy would include creating a novel and exciting atmosphere with the “Store as a Theatre” concept while also providing convenient services and an extensive variety of goods, organising interactive marketing activities, applying advanced technologies to provide speedy and efficient services, and seamlessly fusing in-store and online shopping experiences with 24-hour shopping opportunities.
“We will not any more divide our store space into different product departments as previously, but will bring products and services into the store based on lifestyles and preferences of particular shoppers.
“We will also realise www.Central.co.th as our 22nd store, and be similarly focused [on it] as on our physical department-store branches.” 
A recent survey showed that in Thailand there were 82.8 million mobile phones in use, or 1.2 per person. About 40 million people access social media via mobile phones and the most popular sites are Facebook, YouTube, Line, Instagram and Twitter, in that order.
“Last year, people spent around 6.2 hours a day on smartphones and [tablets]. The time spent with these digital accessories is expected to be about 7.5 hours a day this year,” Piyawan said. 
“Baby-boomer and Gen X consumers spend time with Line, Facebook, and YouTube respectively as their top-ranking social media. Meanwhile, for Gen Y and Z, YouTube [is the favourite], followed by Facebook and Line.” 
She said Central Department Store had strong communication channels on all of these sites except Line, so it was extending its presence on this platform because Line is one of the world’s three most used social-networking sites, with an average of 70 minutes a day spent on it. It is also the most popular chat application in Thailand, with 83 per cent of Thais using it.
Central recently launched an official Line account. Launched along with the account was the “Central and The Gang” Line sticker, which features a white polar bear as the main character to represent Central’s unique characteristics and homey feel, the company says. 
Other characters are a deer to signify being dear and a rabbit to signify agility and speed.