As the COVID-19 outbreak continues to impact businesses, one important lesson is to adapt through quick thinking and workarounds[1]. One business that has taken prompt action to ensure its survivability is mc.2, the same business that launched Singapore’s first home fashion gallery in 2018. With less crowds at the showroom, mc.2 had to find a breakthrough for their business in order to survive and stay ahead of their competitors. Since the start of the Circuit Breaker measures, mc.2 has continually tried various methods to digitalize their operations, including Facebook Live demonstration, product introduction over Zoom, WhatsApp Video calls and many more. Today, mc.2 launches Singapore’s first digital platform for ALTEXTM SecureZIP balcony blinds, where customers are able to complete their quotation, order, and arrange for installation completely online.
Brick-and-Mortar Pre-COVID-19 to Click-and-Mortar Post-COVID-19
In the past, SecureZIP blinds were popularly shopped for through face-to-face demonstrations at showrooms. Customers had to familiarize with the product and the benefits it brings to their homes. With the COVID-19 outbreak, Singaporeans who are still working from home see the dire need to make use of every inch of their homes, such as converting their balcony space to working corners. This cannot happen without the help of SecureZIP blinds that can protect their working space from rain and heat. Today, homeowners are very familiar with SecureZIP blinds, and many no longer need on-site demonstration.
Having identified this shift in customer purchasing behavior and knowing that customers are increasingly comfortable shopping online, mc.2 launches Singapore’s first e-commerce platform for SecureZIP blinds. Customers can now enjoy the ease of checking out their SecureZIP blinds wherever they are with their smart devices. This shortens the customers’ buying process, providing them added convenience and increasing efficiency. Customers no longer have to “request for quote” and wait for the sales team to respond, which typically takes around 1-3 working days.
mc.2’s e-commerce platform will eventually have more than 1,600 preset balcony types from over 40 home estates. By integrating their market intelligence with sophisticated calculation processes, this platform allows customers to:
- Easily select from pre-loaded balcony types
(no longer a need for customers to upload their floor plan) - Select preferred fabric types, colors, and more
(for home estates with fixed color codes, the system will indicate so, and this saves customers’ time) - Receive immediate quotation for their selection, which is 95% accurate. The actual quotation may vary for individual units, but the difference in price is not great.
- Arrange for preferred installation schedule
With this, mc.2 is able to address customers’ instant gratification needs by providing them the information that they need very promptly. This can only be made possible with the years of experience mc.2 has gathered from their thousands of balcony installations.
mc.2 e-commerce platform can be accessed at https://mc2.com.sg/shop-zip-blinds/. mc.2 aims to complete the uploading of all 40 home estates and over 1,600 balcony types by early-October 2020.
