Taobao Opens First Physical Shop in Plaza Sing & It’s Super High-Tech

What comes to your mind when you think of Taobao?

Well, to us it’s this:

Primarily because they’re our client, and also because we receive this from them. It’s so cute, everyone has been trying to steal it back home, so we’ve locked it in a safe

But to many of you, it’s this:

Yah, an online platform for you to buy affordable stuff online. In fact, I’m pretty sure some of you couldn’t have survived a day without “Tao-ing” anything (I kid you not: “Tao” has become a verb, just like “Google” has become a verb).

But in the back of your mind, you’re always conscious of this:

After all, horror stories of buying an office dress that unsurprisingly turns into a baby dress are plentiful online.

Won’t it be dope if you can see and touch what you’re buying from Taobao?

My dearest reader who’s a Tao Addict, your wish has come true.

Because Taobao is opening up a physical store, right in the middle of Singapore.

Taobao First Physical Store in Plaza Singapura

Now, before you proudly announce to the world that Singapore has the first physical shop in the Milky Way, hold your cows, cats and dogs.

Because unshockingly-ly-ly, there are already Taobao physical shops.

But in Singapore? It’s the first.

Located within a store in Plaza Singapura called NomadX, the unique concept store blends online and offline shopping into one common sphere. Known as a “phygital” store, it comprises the experience of shopping physically and digitally.

Physically because you can touch the product you’re buying, and therefore won’t be buying the wrong size again.

Digitally because of these factors:

• It comprises physical shops of online businesses / platforms, like our dearest Taobao
• It’s high-tech: using an app, algorithms would propose shopping routes so you’ll buy more be shown the products that match your interest based on your profile (hello, Facebook)
• It’s high-tech 2: using…alamak, just high-tech lah, like scanning QR codes of products that suggest your size and styling recommendations and many more

Yeah, it’s like your favourite online stores somehow always managing to push what you’d want to buy on your homepage.

The store has two levels and spans over 11,000 sqft.

Other stores that we know are in Nomads are as follow:

• Digital Fashion Week
• Evenodd
• Révolte
• Style Theor

But honestly, I’m only interested in Taobao #justsaying