Late Night Shopping in Singapore to become Weekly Event

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Shopaholics can now look forward to more weekend retail therapy when Late Night Shopping becomes a weekly staple every Saturday, starting from Saturday, 1 September 2007. Besides shopper deals and promotional activities, participating malls have lined up music, magic, cabaret, mime and dance performances to add more buzz and vibrancy along Orchard Road, further enhancing the entire retail and pedestrian experience.

A feature of Singapore’s retail scene, Late Night Shopping has been a resounding success, having transformed from an annual initiative during the Great Singapore Sale to a monthly event since July 2006 and now a weekly affair.

“This next phase of the Singapore Tourism Board’s move to enliven not only the late night shopping options but also dining and entertainment experiences along Singapore’s premier shopping street, Orchard Road, is in response to recent lifestyle and retail developments here,” said Mr Andrew Phua, STB’s Director of Cluster Development, Tourism Shopping and Dining.

“Besides becoming more vibrant with the influx of new international brands, the entire retail experience here is also changing to accommodate the increasingly nocturnal lifestyles of locals and visitors.”

The Late Night Shopping initiative along Orchard Road complements other precincts offering lifestyle options after-hours around the city centre, such as the entertainment and dining outlets along the Singapore River and at Marina Bay, as well as the street bazaars and eateries that open late at Bras Basah/Bugis.

Tourism shopping amounted to Sin$3.69 billion in 2006, contributing almost half of total tourist expenditure. The STB is looking to grow this tourism pillar in a bid to realise its target of attracting 17 million visitors and Sin$30 billion in tourism receipts by 2015.

Wisma Atria, which has supported Late Night Shopping since its pilot phase in July 2006, has seen tangible returns from its participation. Ms Amy Lim, its Assistant General Manager, said, “Wisma Atria has been a great supporter of the Friday Late Night Shopping initiative, with 70% of our tenants extending their business hours till midnight. During these late shopping nights, shopper traffic at Wisma Atria jumps 20%, compared to a regular Friday.

“As such, we are very keen to switch Late Night Shopping from a monthly to a weekly affair. We would like to see more malls participating in this initiative, as experience has shown that it is only with critical mass that shopper traffic and spending will increase.”

Another stalwart supporter is TANGS Orchard, which has taken the initiative to continue extending shopping hours on Friday, as well as Saturday. Mr Tan Boon Tuck, its Senior Vice President of Singapore Business, said, “Friday nights are seen by many to be the start of the weekend, and shopping till 11pm is a great way to unwind and de-stress. Contributions from shoppers after 9pm can account for up to 25% of the day’s sale.

“From September, TANGS Orchard will open till 11pm every Friday and Saturday because there’s a growing number of tourists visiting Singapore over the weekend, and, together with other stakeholders along Orchard Road, we want to ensure they have a great shopping and dining experience on Saturday nights.”

Shoppers can look forward to a bumper weekend of shopping on Friday, 31 August and Saturday, 1 September, to mark the transition from the final Friday Late Night Shopping to the new Saturday Late Night Shopping.

Kicking off the Saturday shopping madness are four malls, TANGS Orchard, Wisma Atria, Paragon and The Centrepoint, which will open to 11pm. Shoppers can look forward to promotional activities such as redemptions of gifts, shopping vouchers and taxi vouchers with minimum purchase made, as well as scheduled street-level performances along Orchard Road.

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