Hysan introduces new retail experience in collaboration with OpenRice and Alipay

To accelerate its digital transformation, Hysan Development Company rolled out its “New Retail Revolution” plan across Lee Gardens Area in Causeway Bay. It kicked off the strategy by joining forces with OpenRice and Alipay to provide a comprehensive and seamless O2O shopping and dining eCommerce experience to customers. Unveiled at Hysan’s “New Retail Revolution” opening ceremony, it became the first Hong Kong shopping mall to partner with online restaurant guide and review portal OpenRice, integrating the portal seamlessly into Hysan’s soon-to-be-launched mobile app.The all-in-one app will allow members to directly interact with restaurants in the Lee Gardens Area, delivering an all-round dining experience with functions ranging from restaurant searches and reservations to ordering, takeaway, payment and rewards points management.Hysan also promoted its “retail-tainment” business mode, which incorporates retail and entertainment to boost consumption. Since November marks Lee Garden Three’s first anniversary and OpenRice’s 20th anniversary, Hysan is planning Hong Kong’s first time-limited OpenRice experience zone, set to launch in the fourth quarter with details to be announced later.To meet the rising demand of electronic payments and increase retail efficiency, Hysan is launching four marketing campaigns this year in conjunction with Alipay, including the exclusive shopping rebates offered to Lee Gardens Area’s Alipay users during the recent Labour Day holiday, which was well-received according to Hysan.This paperless reward system also epitomises Hysan’s business ideal, supporting sustainability while strengthening its brand positioning.“The ‘New Retail’ concept refers to an innovative retail model that connects the online presence, offline retail experience and logistics service. In this respect, mall operations are no longer simply offline businesses,” said Ricky Lui, chief operating officer at Hysan Development Company.The “New Retail Revolution” aims to accelerate Lee Gardens’ digitalisation across six different aspects – smart community, co-marketing, consumer experience, retail technology and big data, omni-channel communication, and third-party collaboration – taking a consumer-oriented approach that supports merchants to deliver an integrated O2O experience, as well as expanding their market coverage and businesses.The plan focuses on the interaction between brands and consumers, using big data, AI and other technology to reconstruct the relationships between people, products and places, and to reform the retail experience. These retail enhancements are particularly catered to the demands and expectations of Millennials and Generation Z.“Digital transformations are in progress regarding what products are offered, as well as where, when and how they are offered. These transformations will further enhance the Lee Gardens Area’s shopping experience. Consumers can also expect an updated mobile app soon,” said Tiffany Lam, marketing and customer experience director at Hysan Development Company.Hysan is also updating the Lee Garden Plus membership programme to combine point management and member rewards, allowing customers to earn points at all merchants in the Lee Gardens Area, which they can then redeem for a wide range of member-exclusive rewards and offers.The soon-to-be-updated mobile app will not only optimise customers’ shopping experiences, but also will integrate CRM to better understand their needs, deliver more personalised and readily available information and experiences, and elevate loyalty.