KF Seetoh says online buys are convenient but may be an end to many retail jobs

Makansutra found KF Seetoh spoke about online purchases to the detriment of the retail sector recently.

“online buys are convenient but not compulsory” and while buying online, more jobs may be lost in the retail sector said Makansutra founder KF Seetoh.

In a Facebook post on Monday (Nov 9), the local food guru shared the following Straits Times article: ‘Orchard Rd will retain its vibrancy even sans Robinsons, say experts’.

In the article, Singapore Retailers Association executive director Rose Tong said that the shopping belt that is Orchard Road is “not dependent on one stakeholder alone”.

However, she added that “The challenge is whether retailers can continuously offer consumers even more compelling reasons to differentiate the in-store experience from online shopping”.

In his Facebook post, Mr Seetoh wrote: “If your lifestyle depends on what you finger and buy off the mobile phone..then it’s sure a waste of that heartbeat in yr little ticker innit?”

“It may be a few bucks cheaper online (not all the time) but i rather spend it because it helps keep jobs”, Mr Seetoh said.

“Try, for starters, taking 2-3 hours living offline and take a walk down the soon to be lit Orchard Road or Little India and consume the festivities. Look up at the glow n soak it in, not at your phone. Walk down a department stall aisle and be surprised by varieties of shoes or oven that did not entice you in your phone’s feed. Do some me time or drag your phone addict friends along and..heal together”, he urged.

In the ST article, Associate Professor Lawrence Loh from the National University of Singapore Business School warned that the closure of Robinsons could be the start of closures of other large-scale stores along Orchard Road such as Marks & Spencer at Wheelock Place, Isetan at Shaw House and Takashimaya at Ngee Ann City. /TISG