Since the rise of smartphones, social media platforms, and technologies such as augmented reality, consumers’ comfort levels with technology are on the rise.

For retail experiences especially, today’s consumers browse their mobile devices or walk into a retail store and expect their experience to be enhanced by technology in some way — whether it be facial recognition, personalised ads, product recommendations, or more.

Visual search capabilities are one of the most dynamic technological breakthroughs impacting retail today, as they allow visuals to connect consumers with products, thereby eliminating the need for keyword searches — a huge challenge that consumers face today.

In fact, almost half of consumers are most excited about visual search in their shopping journeys. And while visual search technology has had one of its most profound impacts on e-commerce experiences, we’re also seeing more use of the technology in-store, thereby bringing enhanced convenience and interchangeable shopping experiences to consumers.

Mobile devices are the driving force that has bridged the gap between online and offline experiences — and have in a way become personal shopping assistants. Because consumers are inspired at any time, whether they’re browsing content online or influenced by an outfit someone is wearing, it has become essential for them to use their device on hand to seamlessly find what they’re looking for.

Brands also reap the benefits of this as when their products are more discoverable and have increased ‘findability,’ they’re seeing higher conversion rates, better brand loyalty, and higher revenues.

Also Read: Why humanising e-commerce will be the game changer for DTC brands

Here’s why mobile devices are such a crucial component of the shopping experience today.

Online product discovery goes beyond a brand’s website

Product discovery can happen on a brand’s website, but also while browsing social media and on third-party e-commerce websites. Today, more consumers are inspired to make a purchase after seeing a product on Facebook than any other social channel, and 75 per cent make at least one purchase a month on social platforms.

Because consumers can be inspired anytime, anywhere while browsing content — which normally occurs on a mobile device — technologies like visual search make it easier to screenshot inspirational images and find the products within them.

Shoppable content also makes e-commerce experiences even more convenient for consumers as they can click and be directed to a site where the product is available. Long are the days when consumers relied solely on keywords to find what they’re looking for.

Retailers need to capitalise on all the visual enhancements available today in order to boost product discoverability.

Consumers are inspired anytime, anywhere

Almost half of the world has smartphones today, so it’s important for retailers to connect and engage with consumers on these devices. This is critical for shopping experiences as consumers are often physically inspired, therefore it’s a more seamless transaction if they can tap into visual search capabilities directly from their devices.

Also Read: E-commerce trends: What to expect in 2020

Research has even found that 90 per cent of shoppers are more likely to purchase a product if it’s visually searchable on their smartphone. This also goes for in-store shopping as smartphones are being used more in-store to price compare, search consumer reviews, or find additional product information — simply by capturing a photo.

This means visual shopping is no longer tethered to online-only, and retailers can also benefit from it at the in-store level by empowering a wherever, whenever shopping experience.

When shoppers have the proper tools and resources needed to find products on-the-go, the chances of losing a possible sale is lower. Whether it’s online or in-store, inspiration can spark at any time and it’s important that consumers feel they’re equipped with what they need to make it a reality.

Consumers today expect their shopping experiences to be enhanced by smart, mobile technologies, especially visual search and product recognition. Therefore, brands and retailers need to ensure that they’re adopting these new trends to stay competitive. After all, what use is an amazing product if it cannot be discovered easily?

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There have been a lot of changes overwhelming the professional landscape across most industries since the beginning of the year. The outbreak and its aftermath caused market shifts that led to companies closing their doors, suffering little to no business, and entire industries dropping to record lows of interest.

However, these market shifts were a catalyst for positive change in other industries which found public interest and business opportunities higher than ever during the pandemic scare.

The challenges that the COVID-19 outbreak has generated for recruitment across all sectors don’t seem to be going anywhere though, and a recruitment process that’s designed to tackle these challenges head-on is more important than ever.

We’ve already entered the early stages of what will soon become a war for qualified talent. As industries recover and companies find their balance, the hunt for promising talent displays all the signs of a quick and competitive race.

While the talent market is currently bustling with potential hires, high-caliber candidates will disappear from it first.

Also Read: Vietnam’s JobHopin nabs US$2.45M Series A to make recruitment easier in Southeast Asia

Perhaps it’s still too soon to accurately predict what our new reality will be. Perhaps as the situation improves, employment opportunities would eventually rise to match the global supply of talent.

One thing is certain; employers need a post-pandemic talent strategy that outlines their approach to recruitment in the coming months.

Flexible candidates for flexible roles

Flexibility in this context can refer to a remote workforce model or professionals capable of working unusual shifts and hours. Flexible roles are most commonly those of an advisory, marketing, IT, or sales nature.

A flexible workforce can cut through COVID-19’s impact on business continuity. Moreover, such employees help diversify the company’s model as well as provide employers with the financial flexibility of hourly and project-based rates.

HR Technology

The current situation presents the perfect opportunity for companies to adopt new tools. It’s impeccable timing in which organisations can reassess their processes and recruitment strategies through HR Technology.

Healthy communication and consistent productivity are an important factor in talent acquisition and retention. Oversight in this regard often falls to the HR department, as they need to monitor this aspect of the workplace at all times.

Also Read: How Maslow’s hierarchy of needs can improve a startup’s recruitment marketing

More often than not, the HR department has to set the pace of the team’s communication as well as organise and prepare the workplace and manage everyone’s paperwork.

Human resources processes generate a significant amount of data on a good day. But recruitment generates even more on its own. Adopting HR technology and SaaS products can ease your HR department or recruitment agency’s workload and simplify the data management aspect of their tasks.

Implementing the right SaaS for recruitment, allows these companies to import and integrate such existing data into the platform, simplifying data management, and funnelling information to the appropriate tab or function.

More importantly, these changes allow your HR to shift their focus and their processes towards tackling the finer details of recruitment that software cannot achieve. For example, some companies choose to implement an ATS capable of automating the majority of the process, of parsing resumes, scoring candidates, and recommending the top picks for the top positions. This directly saves the recruitment team time and effort.

Focus on your current workforce

Various industries have been having a difficult time with their recruitment over the past few months. Not only did the outbreak create new hurdles for every industry out there, but access to these talents have also become limited.

Also Read: Vietnam’s JobHopin nabs US$2.45M Series A to make recruitment easier in Southeast Asia

The various regulations and international travel laws have more or less blocked out the global talent market. Companies found themselves losing access to the foreign and immigrating workforce.

Though there are a lot of ways that struggling companies can improve their recruitment, like hiring remote workers, leveraging recruitment tech and communication tools, some industries such as travel and hospitality are better off focusing on their current workforce rather than recruiting new talent.

We aren’t saying that recruitment should be abandoned altogether, but this situation and these circumstances are as difficult for aspiring candidates as they are for your current team. HR professionals can shift their focus to guide the workforce throughout these unusual times, manage their difficulties and professional issues, as well as provide resources and support as needed.  Working to improve internal communication is very important in maintaining a motivated workforce during these uncertain times.

Prepare your post-pandemic strategy

This pertains more to the industries most impacted by the pandemic. Business in the hotel and hospitality sector, outdoor dining, and travel to name a few. A large number of candidates in this sphere have opted to make the shift towards more promising or thriving industries.

However, once the pandemic blows over and restrictions are lifted, you can expect suffering sectors to come back with major recruitment changes and fierce competition over top talent.

Preparing your company for a post-COVID 19 recruitment campaign begins now.

Also Read: Go-Jek acquires Indian recruitment platform developer AirCTO

Companies that take this time to act by cultivating relationships and connections with promising talent in their sphere, will have the advantage of accumulating valuable data from potential candidates.

The advantage depends largely on the frequency of this networking exercise, an advantage with great long term value, especially since the expected wave competitive recruitment will be on a large global scale.

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For the last few years live commerce has been steadfastly developing and evolving.  Undaunted by early rejection from most retailers and seeing its popularity soar overseas, live commerce has persisted as it waited for its coming-out party.  That moment appears to have arrived.

COVID-19 by any measure has shaken us to the core but has also forced the reexamination of the ways business has been, and now will need to be, conducted.  No sector is that more evident in than non-essential retail, which was hit disproportionately hard during the pandemic.

For most of these retailers, there will exist two eras of their businesses: pre-COVID-19 and, if they’re fortunate, post-COVID-19.

As retailers begin to pick themselves up off the floor, dust off their shoulders, and look towards the future, they face difficult, never-imagined decisions about how to move their businesses forward.  A key, perhaps the key, the issue they must resolve in this new normal is how to serve their customers who are, for now at least, simply unwilling to shop in-store.

As a result, live commerce suddenly appears on track to finally fulfil its destiny as the conduit between online and offline buying experiences.

The concept of retailers and brands marrying their physical and digital channels has been around since the birth of e-commerce.  How can the website drive in-store foot traffic or how does a brick and mortar visit improve online conversion rates?

Also Read: Why humanising e-commerce will be the game changer for DTC brands

Figuring out this yin and yang of retail has never been more critical, but also never more achievable.

Recent technological and streaming video advances have made true live commerce a reality and the timing could obviously not be better. Retailers can now utilise their expert in-store sales associates to service online customers via live shoppable video, to help those previously anonymous and unassisted shoppers over the purchase finish line.

This virtual in-store co-shopping experience is available today and is just one innovative way retailers can blend their offline and online channels.

With several technologies available on the market and a recent pandemic to spotlight its necessity, what could possibly continue to delay the inevitable adoption of live commerce?  The root of the answer is as old as the launch of e-commerce itself.

Most retailers still operate online and offline as separate businesses.  Each with their own siloed budgets and P&Ls.  Further, in many cases, retail and e-commerce divisions aren’t exactly allies and can be quite territorial about their domains.

Does a transaction get credited to the store whose sales associate helped an online customer or is it simply counted as an e-commerce sale?  Who cares, right? Well, primarily the people whose job performance and compensation are tied to those sales numbers.

Also Read: DTC and native: Is it the perfect e-commerce partnership?

So while COVID-19 has certainly shown a bright light on the need for retailers to utilise live commerce, for it to truly transform, the leadership within these companies must ensure culture is established to act as one cohesive unit rather than two separate, self-serving arms.

If ever there was a time for that type of transformative and philosophical change vital to best utilise live commerce it is now, on the heels of a pandemic when a certain galvanised resolve is born out of the destruction.  Times of desperation lead groups of people previously at odds come together for a common cause or purpose.

So, if retailers can’t realign their thinking to get everyone pulling together in the same direction now, when can they?  Forward-thinking companies, those that enable internal unity and launch live commerce to service customers where they’re comfortable shopping from – likely their couch, can thrive in the new normal.

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We started Ohmyhome in Singapore in 2016, with a goal to establish a one-stop Property solution. Since then, we have expanded to Malaysia and, later this year, our third market. While every startup faces unique challenges in attempting to expand, a common denominator for success has been early investment into building technology that will eventually serve us when the time calls for it.

Whether you’re developing an app, integrating e-payment options, or trying to build a website for your company, the sooner you make a conscious investment into integrating tech to your everyday business and its operations, the earlier you will see dividends.

This is especially so when it comes to expanding into Southeast Asia which looks to add 50 million new middle-class consumers by 2022 and is set to become the fourth-largest market in the world by 2030. It is only possible to serve all of this population growth with the deployment of technology.

Moreover, the growth of these areas is focused on its tech sector with the region’s digital economy projected to reach US$300 billion by 2025.

Here are some of the key reasons how we have benefited from our technology. Hopefully, it can help you too.

Also Read: How tech startups can transform the supply chain in Southeast Asia

Automation and a lean Workforce

Repetitive, menial tasks are inevitable in any operation but the tedium and effort expended to complete them need not be. Business Process Automation (BPA) has been on the rise and it is not hard to see why. By automating administrative tasks as much as possible, your staff will be freed up to do higher-value work that brings more value to your company and more value to themselves on a personal level, keeping them more engaged in their jobs.

Salespeople are able to meet clients who have been pre-filtered to match the salesperson’s personality, expertise and knowledge, allowing them to know the customer even before meeting them, saving time in potential missteps. Customer relations can respond quickly to enquiries and focus on building relationships.

On a fundamental level, automation also means equipping your staff with the skills and mindset to spot inefficiencies and address them with technological solutions. To that end, we provide training for staff in simple automation tools like creating and utilising macros in excel.

Our staff have created macros to automatically scrape information from forms and organise them into databases, and when the solution is more complex they are able to communicate effectively with our tech team on what improvements can be made because of their training. Minimising mundane tasks makes your staff more efficient, improves morale, and saves cost.

This is especially important for startups expanding to new markets. Not only does automation let you hit the ground running in a new market, BPA solutions often also allow you to keep track of progress on different tasks without having to be physically present. This proved to be invaluable when we had to make a quick engineering decision affecting our overseas office that required re-scheduling of work for multiple teams.

Also Read: Disaster Tech innovation is key in mitigating the impact of natural disasters


Using Trello, we were easily able to assess which tasks could be moved and adjust various task deadlines easily. When you’re managing a regional tech team, Trello makes adjustments like this seamless. Managing multiple offices across different countries is a tall order but it can be made simpler through automation.

Information drives results

Information is powerful. In the case of expanding to new markets, it is indispensable. Before embarking on a new product feature or deciding on the next market, it is crucial that startups gather and analyse data sets to assist in crafting market entry strategies to avoid costly mistakes.

Getting started on data analytics early also means that you can proactively alter your strategy, business model and decision making skillsets based on the results you are monitoring.

While people can debate about the interpretation of data, in the current business landscape data analytics is fundamental in ensuring that you have what you need to make informed decisions. Otherwise you are flying blind and working on hunches.

An added benefit of investing early in tech as a startup expanding to new markets is being able to decide where to base your tech team. For instance, while Singapore has ready access to a skilled workforce, it can be expensive to host your tech team here and for small startups, this cost might be prohibitive.

Many companies, instead, have remote teams in Malaysia, Indonesia, India, or the Philippines where manpower costs can be up to 40 per cent lower.

Also Read: Indonesia’s beauty-tech startup Social Bella raises US$58M Series E from Temasek, Pavilion, Jungle Ventures

In our business, our data analysis has enabled us to match buyers to sellers even before the viewing of a property. This allows us to consistently be the fastest transacting platform since our launch.

Adaptability

The pandemic has underscored just how vulnerable businesses can be to major disruptions. Companies struggle to cope with the new reality of business because of their lack of a digital presence and infrastructure.

On the other hand, companies that have integrated tech into their core operations were better able to adapt. For instance, our business continuity plan depends heavily on tech solutions which our team were already experienced in using.

As the world slowly begins to move forward from the pandemic, it is likely that many business practices will be irrevocably changed. We have already observed how quickly a service such as Zoom can become ubiquitous because it fulfilled a need for video conferencing at scale and made it easy to host and share meetings.

Investing early in tech allows you to see opportunities to fill gaps in the market such as Zoom did in an already saturated market with established players such as Skype and Google. Or at the very least, it means having the capacity to quickly adopt new technologies and integrate them into your operations.

Scaling up

One thing you hear a lot about expanding to new markets in Southeast Asia is how important localising your product is. That often means enabling features or services that are region-specific which in turn necessitates that your tech solutions are flexible and robust enough to accommodate these changes.

Also Read: Here are the real reasons why the tech startup scene in Asia is thriving

Early investment in tech coupled with a strong vision for the future means you are more likely to make the right tech decisions for the long term and avoid mistakes that limit your growth. Overhauling your code architecture is a time-consuming and labour-intensive endeavour that slows down progress on new feature development and improvements to your app but might be necessary if the structure is untenable in the long run.

Speaking from experience, this was a hard lesson to learn. When we were preparing to launch Ohmyhome, like many startups, we were under intense pressure to launch quickly which forced us to make choices that we eventually realised was limiting our growth. In the short term, making quick fixes to avoid making services unavailable seemed sensible.

However, with each new addition and hotfix, we built an increasingly unstable house of cards. Ultimately, we made the difficult decision to put new developments on hold to revamp our code architecture with a sustainable foundation.

The above is a non-exhaustive list of the ways that early investment in tech will help your startup when expanding to new markets. In todays’ world, whatever your business might be, investing early in tech is one of the most advantageous moves you can make as one builds towards sustainable success.

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When it comes to economics, buyers and sellers are generally assumed to always act in their own interests. But this is not how we behave in real life.

Behavioural economics takes into account the irrational human being, resulting in new pricing strategies that influence what and when we buy. Pricing for products and services is easier when you understand Anchoring and The Decoy Effect.

Let’s examine them using a couple of real-life examples.

Anchoring in product pricing

Watch this video of Steve Jobs announcing the price of the iPad on stage in 2010:

“What should we price it at?” asks Jobs.

Jobs adds: “Well if you listen to the pundits, we’re going to price it at under US$1,000 – that is, US$999.”

“US$999” appears on the big screen.

On the screen, the price of US$999 goes out of the picture and US$499 appears as soon as Jobs says, “I’m thrilled to announce to you that the iPad pricing starts not at US$999, but at $499. At US$499, a lot of people can afford an iPad.”

Jobs was a true showman, always quick with mental triggers. What catches our attention in this example is the price anchoring. By placing the number US$999 in the audience’s mind, he makes US$499 look like a bargain. The proof of this is that Apple sold 300,000 iPads on the first day.

Also Read: Infographic: Consumer behaviour and shopping trends in Southeast Asia visualised

Anchoring may be one of the simplest and most powerful tactics you can use in your pricing.

One way to do this, using Jobs’ US$999 tactic, is to talk about the real value your product will deliver. If your human resources management software can help your client save US$200,000 in recruiting costs, use that as your price anchor.

When you reveal the price of US$50,000, he will realise what a great deal you’re offering. Without the anchor, the US$50,000 may seem like a high price.

The Decoy Effect: How a bag of popcorn can explain the way we make decisions

The “decoy effect” is a technique identified by Dan Ariely in his book Predictably Irrational (2008). In short, it’s about using the human need to make comparisons in order to make supposedly rational and correct decisions. It allows us, in effect, to hack our customers’ brains, influence their decisions to a certain extent, and direct them to the best path.

Don’t think that’s possible?

Let’s do a quick experiment. You go the cinema to watch your favourite actor’s movie. The tempting thought of popcorn laced with salt and butter compels you to buy popcorn. Upon arriving at the food kiosk, you’re faced with the following products:

What size would you choose?

I bet you ended up choosing the bigger one. After all, for just extra US$0.50 you get a lot more popcorn, right?

What if you only had the options below?

In this scenario, possibly, you might have chosen the smaller size – depending on how hungry you were – since there’s no longer the medium-size decoy, which reinforced the benefits of buying the largest size in the previous scenario.

This same experiment was carried out several times and with different products and services. The decoy effect always elicited this same behaviour and generated greater financial gain.

Usually, this effect is created by linking three elements, with one of them playing the role of decoy, which reinforces some important attributes of the purchase and influences the buyer’s decision.

Let’s take another example. Suppose you’re looking for a place to take a vacation and your travel agent recommends two destinations, Rome and Paris. Both trips include airfare, hotel, tours, and breakfast in the package. Which will you choose?

Also Read: Coping with consumer behaviour during the COVID-19 crisis

Difficult, isn’t it? To make this decision, you’d need a lot of time, as both places have their advantages and disadvantages. But what if we add a third option, called (Rome) which doesn’t include free breakfast? It would look like this:

– Package 1: Rome: Tickets, hotel, tours, and breakfast included

– Package 2: Paris: Tickets, hotel, tours, and breakfast included

– Package 3: (Rome): Tickets, hotels, and tours included in the package. Breakfast will be paid separately.

Notice that the comparison with the last option (Rome) makes the package to Rome with the free breakfast look even better. In fact, it makes it look even better than the option for Paris, which has no other comparative option.

How does this happen in digital environments?

If you have a Netflix subscription, your plan is likely to be either Standard or Premium. And now you know why. The “uglier” plan basic is just a decoy to make you spend more.

How can we use this cognitive bias?

If you want to use a decoy price to help guide customers to buy your best products, consider offering different options or packages that add an anchoring effect and highlight the value of the option you really want to sell.

On the other hand, customers will find this useful because they can make comparisons and feel that they’re making the right choice by choosing the best-value-for-money option. This is why you need to create internal competition among your products.

Now that you know more about product and service pricing, it’s time to apply it to your business and start growing again.

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