Singtel brings home two wins at Retail Asia Awards 2025

It bagged the Telecommunications Retailer of the Year - Singapore and the E-Commerce Initiative of the Year - Singapore category wins.

Telecommunications giant Singtel scored two major wins in the 2025 edition of the Retail Asia Awards for its remarkable achievements in the past year, as well as its success in enhancing user experience and boosting sales with its Contextual Search initiative, reflecting its ability to scale innovation, optimise operations, and redefine customer experience within a leaner footprint.

As part of its retail transformation journey, it has optimised its manpower model through automation and customer journey redesign. Its relocation from Comcentre to 313@somerset and the renovation of its Jurong Point store have provided the opportunity to reimagine the retail experience — integrating self-service solutions and streamlining sales processes.

As a result of these changes, the company has recorded a 15% increase in sales traffic at 313@somerset and a 10% uplift at Jurong Point without compromising the customer experience. Bolstered by the positive results, Singtel continues to invest in staff training, innovation, and customer experience enhancements.

To reimagine customer flow in the new branch, it employed design thinking, introducing a digital queue system that is supported by a concierge team, as well as an e-catalogue that pre-engages customers, giving them an avenue to indicate their interests. These initiatives enhance service personalisation whilst reducing waiting times.

Singtel has also pioneered the world’s first TikTok Creator House in a telco store. This professional-grade, soundproofed studio is equipped with 4K HD cameras, wireless microphones, and editing suites, enabling creators, small businesses, and content enthusiasts to produce high-quality digital material for product launches, masterclasses, or live streaming.

The company has also made it a goal to empower customers in performing meaningful searches on its websites to enhance user experience, increase engagement, and drive sales conversions. It implemented the Contextual Search initiative, which is designed to revolutionise the way users interact with search functionalities on Singtel’s pages.

To address high-volume queries, it implemented configurable first-level contextual categories such as Support, Roaming Help, Bills FAQ, Store Locator, and Contact Us. These categories are activated when customers click the search icon, providing them with quick access to essential information.

When customers input search queries, second-level categories such as Shop, Support, Explore, and Business are activated. This allows users to narrow their search based on specific categories. If the search query is related to an item on the eShop, a visual display mimicking the eShop interface is shown, providing quick access links to the eShop.

A related services segment is shown for all searches, leveraging machine learning algorithms to provide suggestions based on the search query. Artificial intelligence (AI) refinements are planned for the future as part of ongoing improvements to deliver better customer service.

This initiative targets Singtel customers who find it challenging to locate information or products. This is expected to bring measurable outcomes for the company, such as reduced browsing time for customers, and higher sales conversions.

Since the launch of this initiative, search usage has increased by 2.2x and attributable sales to search has also increased by 2.3x. Customers who used contextual search have also spent 10 minutes longer on average on the site compared to those who did not use search. For the company, this represents a transformative approach to search functionalities on its pages.

“By leveraging advanced contextual understanding and AI-driven features, we are able to deliver relevant and personalised search results, enhancing user experience and driving sales conversions. This initiative demonstrates Singtel's commitment to innovation and customer satisfaction, setting a new standard for contextual search in the industry,” the company said.

Singtel has been honoured as the Telecommunications Retailer of the Year - Singapore, with the Contextual Search capability also bagging a win as the E-Commerce Initiative of the Year - Singapore in the awards programme.

Retail Asia Awards 2025 recognises outstanding achievements, innovations, and excellence within the retail industry across the Asia-Pacific region.

The Retail Asia Awards is presented by Retail Asia Magazine. To view the full list of winners, click here. If you want to join the 2026 awards programme and be acclaimed for your company's exceptional products or initiatives in the Retail industry, please contact Jane Patiag at [email protected].