31 Exeter Road Comcentre #01-00, Singapore 239732

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Plush, moveable seating, untreated wood and slate tiling create a warm, human-centric setting.

Plush, moveable seating, untreated wood and slate tiling create a warm, human-centric setting.

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Gesture-controlled video kiosks allow customers to engage with the stories and products on offer.

Gesture-controlled video kiosks allow customers to engage with the stories and products on offer.

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A first-class lounge with high-back wine chairs and turf-like grass caters to high-value customers.

A first-class lounge with high-back wine chairs and turf-like grass caters to high-value customers.

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The use of natural materials throughout creates contrast with the glossy, high-tech design commonly seen in telecomms settings.

The use of natural materials throughout creates contrast with the glossy, high-tech design commonly seen in telecomms settings.

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Queuing software allows customers to “check in” and log their shopping intent.

Queuing software allows customers to “check in” and log their shopping intent.

Photography courtesy of Public Design Group

Singtel, Singapore


Location:

31 Exeter Road Comcentre #01-00, Singapore 239732

1singtel.com

Design Credit:

Public Design Group
publicdesigngroup.com

Singaporean telecomms company Singtel has shifted its brand proposition from a tech product base to one of lifestyle services. Its newly unveiled retail store design, pitched as Instagram in a retail space, dramatically underscores this new shift.

Entry is via a three-metre storytelling tunnel featuring floor-to-ceiling screens that use video to show how individuals and popular, innovative brands are using communications technology – immediately forefronting the company’s increased emphasis on personal stories and lifestyle relevance. Inside, a series of large headline story panels continues this approach, speaking to customers’ curiosity about others’ lives.

Natural materials such as textured slate, faux grass and raw timber provide a contrast with the high-tech aesthetics so common in this space – and the famously built-up city as a whole.

Australian retail design agency Public Design Group has created a new service-centric, lifestyle-focused identity for Singtel.

Rather than aiming to mimic the glossy, streamlined products on offer, the goal is to create a sense of humanity and personal relevance. Plush, colourful seating provides a series of waiting points – including a separate first-class lounge – and gesture-controlled allow customers to explore digital stories.

Promotional materials have been cut to a minimum, encouraging customers to engage with staff instead, while a “plug in here” option creates an instantly personalised experience.

Kiosks with automated queuing software logs the arrival of customers, freeing them up to browse the store. The same kiosks are used to print barcoded tickets that can be used by customers to register their interest in products and accessories throughout the store – customer service representatives can review these prior to meeting with a customer.

It’s a bold response to current trends in tech-based retail – and a bold shift in the brand’s focus.


Words by Stephanie Campisi


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