What it takes to bring a traditional supermarket online

There lies a little pocket – 9,000 square feet to be exact – of Thailand on the second storey of Golden Mile Complex. Thai Supermarket, which started out in 1985 as a mini-mart to serve the needs of migrant workers has since expanded to house over 10,000 products sourced directly from Thailand and Vietnam.

And now, after 35 years, the traditional supermarket is ready for its next phase of expansion – this time in the virtual space.

It has recently launched an online store, which stocks the supermarket’s popular products along with some exclusive items. At the helm of this digital transformation are three young millennials: Loh Wan Ting and Loh Wan Jing, the daughters of Loh Yuen Seng, a co-founder of the supermarket; and his niece Vanida Loh. Together, they make up the online team, and are responsible for bringing Thai Supermarket into the new era.

“Originally, our audience has always been Thais in Singapore,” says Vanida. “We hope to diversify our audience by sharing more about our very own ‘Little Thailand’."

But stocking the virtual shelves of Thai Supermarket was a difficult task – one that took some five months of planning and executing. A new inventory system had to be put in place, and the trio had to expand into a co-warehouse where they could store, pack, and arrange for deliveries. The website also came with newfound challenges; according to Wan Jing, the team now has to juggle marketing, design, customer service, public relations, and online sales development.

“One of the biggest challenges was getting used to the backend system of the website,” shares Vanida. “We also had to fine-tune the types of products we choose to bring online.”