Orchard Turn Developments takes home three accolades at Retail Asia Awards 2023

It has successfully stood out by providing personalised, differentiated, and experiential retail experiences that delight shoppers and attract tourists.

Orchard Turn Developments, the company behind Singapore's premier shopping destination ION Orchard, has recently received three accolades at the Retail Asia Awards 2023. 

ION Orchard was recognised as the Mall of the Year, whilst its House of Dreams pop-up exhibition received the Pop-up Retail Project of the Year award. Meanwhile, its Love Our World campaign, an initiative promoting sustainability amongst shoppers, was awarded the Sustainability Initiative of the Year in Singapore.

The mall has stayed relevant and resilient since it opened in 2009 by launching several campaigns, store openings, exclusive membership deals, brands and partner collaborations, and providing unique and holistic experiences that captured shoppers' attention and kept them coming back for more. 

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To further connect with the shoppers and to create memorable experiences, ION Orchard also collaborates with brands to create engaging exclusive events. Some of these were Louis Vuitton X Nike Air collaboration, the Kai x Gucci collaboration which were available exclusively only in the ION Orchard store in Singapore, as well as the Jentle Garden Pop-up by Gentle Monster where the mall was one of the five selected cities around the world to host the pop-up.  

The mall also constantly refreshes its offerings and cultivated strong relationships with successful and emerging brands, both globally and locally. For instance, THE ONITSUKA, Onitsuka Tiger's new dress shoe line, recently opened its first South-East Asia flagship boutique in Singapore at ION Orchard. Brands like Gentle Monster, HUGO, Lee Hwa Jewellery, and Massimo Dutti have also been newly revamped and reopened with innovative concepts, offering a unique shopping experience. To create a relaxing environment where shoppers can bond with their loved ones over coffee and treats, ION Orchard also have a wide array of F&B choices such as Surrey Hills Grocer, Puzzle Coffee, and Le Matin Patisserie.

As part of elevating shoppers’ experience, the mall also revamped the ION Orchard mobile app earlier this year and introduced the effortless Easy Earn as part of its loyalty programme.

ION⁺ Points are now awarded at the point of payment without the need to scan and upload receipts at participating Easy Earn Stores. Additionally, there are also exclusive privileges and deals, for tourists.

ION Orchard also makes it a point to tap on digital channels such as the mall's website and social media channels to reach and engage its followers. The mall introduced project #IONCreators by working with key opinion leaders and launched new facets to digital experiences such as incorporating gamification and hyper reality content across the seasonal campaigns, resulting in positive social media coverage and increased footfall.

The mall embarked on an eco-conscious journey by doing its small part for nature through its Green Point sustainability initiative, which sets a new standard for malls worldwide in promoting eco-consciousness and sustainable practices amongst shoppers. The initiative aims to raise awareness of sustainability issues and encourages shoppers to take action. 

Launched in 2021, the Green Points programme rewards ION⁺ Rewards Members who shop sustainably which is exchanged for shopping and dining privileges. The programme was extended for the Love Our World sustainability campaign in June 2022, which aims to educate shoppers on climate change, promote green efforts such as reduce, reuse, and recycle, and encourage shoppers to embark on a sustainable journey through a pop-up with educational panels and actual recycle bins for various materials. 

For Love Our World, ION Orchard partnered with brands such as L'OCCITANE to offer hands-on experiences such as workshops and tours aimed at educating shoppers on sustainable practices. The mall also educated shoppers on the need to shop and live sustainably through educational panels and a sustainability trail, which highlighted sustainable brands and featured art-of-recycling bins designed by KOLs.

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These efforts to promote sustainability were widely covered in the media, securing coverage multiple media publications and key opinion leaders and influencers. The campaign achieved an aggregate reach of over 6,000,000 and a PR value of over S$963,000.00.

Another project by ION Orchard was the House of Dreams pop-up, a first-of-its-kind exhibition. To #SupportLocal, ION Orchard collaborated with Jian Yang, a renowned local Barbie Collector with a collection of over 12,000 Barbie dolls. The specially curated collection included dolls that represented pop culture and trends through the years, as well as people of disabilities, different races, and body shapes in the name of inclusivity and progression.

To capture attention and drive traffic to the mall, ION Orchard had to be strategic in meeting the heightened expectations of shoppers who crave personalisation, differentiation, and "experiential retail" from brands. The House of Dreams exhibition was designed to excite and resonate deeply with shoppers, offering them a trip down pop culture’s memory lane.

For House of Dreams, ION Orchard also collaborated with brands to specially create different workshops ranging from beauty to food, offering different multisensory experiences to shoppers, whilst also allowing brands to showcase products and services with Barbie themes. Shoppers could get a Barbie-inspired manicure, try a cocktail-making workshop to create a pink drink, or experience a Pink Me Up! Makeup Workshop with Guerlain’s in-house makeup expert.

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The exhibition was supported by the Singapore Tourism Board and was hugely successful with 25,000 visitors making their way through the month-long exhibition.