Why you need to know about the retail digitainment industry

This fast-growing sector is already valued at S$20 billion and is creating a plethora of jobs across China and Southeast Asia.
By: | October 23, 2019

Thanks to the growing popularity of live streaming e-commerce platforms such as Lazada, Qoo10 and Shopee, the retail digitainment industry is booming. Digitainment is a mashup of digital and entertainment and refers to content created by live streamers that entertain viewers while selling them products.

The retail digitainment industry is most developed in China, while in Singapore, live streamers have also been building their following. The skills most in demand are big data analytics, product sales, marketing and live broadcasting.

Nanyang Polytechnic’s Singapore Institute of Retail Studies has partnered with Alibaba-Taobao University and the Singapore Media Academy (SMA) to offer new programmes to help local companies developing skillsets useful in leveraging the new Retail Digitainment industry.

“We brought in Alibaba, whose Taobao Live is synonymous with retail digitainment in China, for the edge needed to elevate Singapore’s retail digitainment industry to the next level,’’ said Ms Megan Ong, Director of Nanyang Polytechnic’s Singapore Institute of Retail Studies.

SMA is a continuing education and training centre appointed by SkillsFuture Singapore.