SINGAPORE \u2013 It is no longer enough for retail workers to be able to sell a product to customers in person \u2013 they now need the skills to do this in front of a camera to a live streaming audience, as well as read the viewers\u2019 reactions and track sales in real time. <\/p>\n
To learn to do all this, a group of 36 local retail workers attended a one-day social commerce course run by TikTok Singapore in January. <\/p>\n
The pilot run, led by Workforce Singapore (WSG), marks an early step in preparing workers for new roles emerging in the sector. The next course is slated to take place in April.<\/p>\n
Such training programmes are part of a broader push to reskill the retail workforce, underpinned by a collaboration between the Singapore Retailers Association (SRA), TikTok Shop Singapore and WSG, which signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed on March 30. <\/p>\n
TikTok Shop is an e-commerce feature that can be found on ByteDance\u2019s TikTok app.<\/p>\n
The three parties will work together to develop social commerce solutions, training programmes and supporting infrastructure to boost the sector\u2019s competitiveness and digital readiness. <\/p>\n
The MOU was signed at the SRA Retail Forum 2026 at Raffles Hotel Singapore. <\/p>\n
Speaking at the event, Minister of Trade and Industry and National Development Alvin Tan said: \u201cWe are here to chart the future of an industry that keeps our neighbourhoods and commercial districts full of life.<\/p>\n
As social commerce has been \u201csupercharged\u201d, \u201cretailers… must embrace digital transformation\u201d to keep up, he added.<\/p>\n
Separately, the Singapore Furniture Industries Council and SRA also signed an MOU on March 30 to strengthen workforce capabilities across the furniture and retail sectors, focusing on areas such as live streaming, artificial intelligence and evolving consumer behaviour.<\/p>\n
The WSG, SRA and TikTok initiative covers the full spectrum of social commerce operations \u2013 from planning and content creation to live engagement, sales conversion and post-stream analysis.<\/p>\n
It also focuses on three emerging roles: hosts who present products on camera, leads who manage sales strategy, and engineers who oversee technical execution. <\/p>\n
Speaking to The Straits Times, SRA president Ernie Koh said live streaming is not limited to younger workers \u2013 it is \u201cageless\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring Covid-19, many (from the) older generations went online and moved into a more online lifestyle,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He added that mature employees can still contribute in different ways. \u201cOlder employees don\u2019t necessarily have to be the live streaming hosts. They can also focus on other roles such as social commerce lead and engineer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Leon Koh, TikTok Shop Singapore\u2019s fashion cluster lead and head of seller management, said TikTok offers retailers a bigger pool of people on the ground to connect with.<\/p>\n
He added that Singapore\u2019s high mobile penetration supports this shift.<\/p>\n
While Mr Koh noted that smaller brands may face challenges in entering the social commerce space \u2013 in areas such as manpower, resources and time \u2013 he said that \u201cone person is enough to live stream\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cAll they would need is a tripod, a phone and a presenter with some of the products,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n (From left) WSG’s acting director of trade and lifestyle Terence Ong; Minister of Trade and Industry and National Development Alvin Tan; SRA president Ernie Koh; Matt Xu, country head of TikTok Shop Singapore at the signing of an MOU.<\/p>\n PHOTO: SINGAPORE RETAILERS ASSOCIATION<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n A structured programme can flatten the learning curve, he added.<\/p>\n Some brands are already seeing the benefits of social commerce. Shiseido Singapore, which began live streaming in 2025, turned to social commerce as consumer behaviour shifted online. It also sells on e-commerce platforms Lazada and Shopee.<\/p>\n Senior general manager Christine Goh said the company recognised it could not rely on a single platform.<\/p>\n \u201cLive streaming on TikTok Shop gave the brand good sales spikes during big retail moments such as Black Friday sales. The social ecosystem has changed,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Ms Goh added that live streaming requires significant preparation: \u201cSometimes it could take a while to set up and complete a live stream \u2013 could take hours. And there needs to be a story told.\u201d<\/p>\n Homegrown lifestyle brand OSIM has also leaned into live streaming, starting in 2025.<\/p>\n Its second deputy chief executive officer Lynn Tan said: \u201cOur sales staff are the ones doing the live streams and it gave (them) room to explain the products. (Live streaming) also encourages people to go to the store directly to test out the product and make purchases.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/picture><\/div>