share on
The partnership aims to strengthen career pathways for retail professionals whilst helping local retailers build the essential digital commerce capabilities through job redesign and reskilling for social commercial hosts, leads, and engineers.
The Singapore Retailers Association (SRA), TikTok Shop, and Workforce Singapore (WSG) recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
The SRA's inaugural Retail Forum 2026 took place on 30 March at the Raffles Hotel Singapore, attended by HRO. The event saw the MoU established to identify, research, develop, and deploy social commerce solutions, training programmes, and support infrastructure to provide a holistic approach to social commerce that extends beyond on-camera presentation skills.
This includes a range of social commerce operations, including pre-stream planning and content curation, behind-the-scenes technical setup, promotional design, and more.
Through job redesign and reskilling, the partnership aims strengthen career pathways for retail professionals whilst helping local retailers build essential digital commerce capabilities. This collaboration addresses three distinct professional roles essential for successful social commerce operations:
- Livestream hosts, as they serve as the on-camera presenter, planning engagement scripts and adapting real-time interactions based on audience response metrics.
- Livestream sellers function as the behind-the-scenes business development specialist, tracking sales performance, implementing flash promotions, and managing inventory and pricing in real-time.
- Livestream engineers provide technical expertise, optimising audio-visual setups, monitoring stream quality, directing transitions, and troubleshooting technical issues to ensure seamless customer experiences.
In his speech, Ernie Koh, President, Singapore Retailers Association (pictured above, third from left), shared that the collaboration represents a "key component of Singapore's broader retail sector digitalisation strategy", which includes artificial intelligence adoption, omnichannel integration and data-driven customer engagement solutions.
He added that experiential retail integration serves to close the gap between physical and digital spaces, of which social commerce is one of several digital transformation pathways helping retailers enhance their competitive edge in an increasingly connected marketplace.
Meanwhile, Leon Koh, Fashion Cluster Lead & Head of Seller Management, TikTok Shop Singapore, added: "We've seen firsthand how livestream commerce can transform brands. By equipping them with the right tools, training, and data-driven insights, TikTok Shop enables businesses of all sizes to increase discoverability, drive meaningful sales growth, and scale more effectively."
Taking the stage at the event was also Minister of State for Ministry of Trade and Industry & Ministry of National Development, Alvin Tan, (pictured above, second from left), who lauded the event for bringing together retail leaders, industry and partners to share their aspirations for the year as an organisation, and find new and more innovative ways to grow and bring vibrancy to the retail sector.
He shared a personal recollection of how the retail industry has evolved from human and face-to-face interaction to one that is behind the screen.
"And today we are finding new and modern ways to do just that. And today we are also here to chart the future of our retail industry that helps to keep our neighborhoods and our commercial districts full of life, he added.
On the manpower front, MOS Tan stated that with the retail sector and overall landscape continuing to evolve, the MoU comes at an imperative time where businesses are looking towards "transforming how we reach customers, that's important, and how we train our people."
"I understand today that retailers are evolving, and you're also navigating a very, very different and rapidly changing landscape. You are dealing with cost pressures, you are dealing with tighter margins, and even as we speak, a very uncertain political environment."
At the same time, MOS Tan stated, customers want more from retailers. "We want more, we want fast, we want it almost immediately. We want convenience."
In that vein, from the organisation's perspective, consumers, too, want to build a connection with the brand. That is where the importance of tapping into technology is important.
"The line between shopping online and in store has already blurred, so customers expect one smooth, responsive and memorable experience, no matter where they interact. And to keep up, retailers here in this room must go digital."
"And a big part of this shift is social commerce. And this social commerce shift is a structural one, a shift that brings together content, community and commerce," MOS Tan highlighted.
He affirmed that although social commerce is not new, it has been "supercharged", evolving with the speed of delivery through live streaming, because "social commerce helps people and helps brands connect."
"It helps brands reach people far beyond their physical stores, and it shortens the time from discovery to purchase, and gives you real time insights from what your customers want."
Emphasising the importance of reskilling the live streaming hosts, sellers and engineers, MOS Tan elaborated:
As a live stream host, and as the face of the brand and building trust, they must learn to adapt their message and branding on the fly, based on live metrics.
The second is the live stream seller that works behind the scenes, planning content, tracking performance, data and managing stock and pricing in real time as the live stream host is busy live streaming.
Behind these two is the live stream engineer that ensures technical stability, and the quality of the broadcast.
"All of these three rules never happened before, but now you need all three to ensure a successful live stream. And this shows that retail is a mix of storytelling, strategy and technology, so one stream, but many different jobs."
MOS Tan elaborated that the MoU will help workers to learn how to use these new skills, including areas of data analytics and also technology through programmes such as WSG's career conversion programme, as an example, "retailers can redesign jobs and help their staff transition into these new social commerce goals."
In conclusion, MOS Tan stressed that "the future of retail is about choosing between a physical store or an online site. It's about creating an interaction that best gives customers their best experience. It's an integrated approach that will bring customers to your physical stores, generate excitement and sales."
The event also included a MoU signing with five SRA members – Young, Hungry, Free, Commune Lifestyle, OSIM, ActionCity and Eyesight.com.
Through this partnership, retailers will gain greater access to digital capabilities, particularly in areas such as live stream commerce, workforce development, support to upskill teams and stay competitive new platforms for growth, both locally and internationally.
READ MORE: ITE and BDx Data Centers partner on talent development for Singapore's digital infrastructure sector
Photos / Singapore Retailers Association (SRA)
Lead image from L-R: Terence Ong, Acting Director, Trade and Lifestyle Division, Workforce Singapore, Alvin Tan, Minister of State, MTI & MND, Ernie Koh, President, SRA, Matt Xu, Country Head, TikTok Shop Singapore
share on
