\n<\/p>\n
Retailers said help with business costs would go a long way in helping them stay afloat.<\/p>\n
Some pointed to CDC vouchers as a key driver of spending, with some estimating that the scheme has boosted sales by as much as 20 per cent.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs retailers, our biggest concern is utilities and rent. If electricity costs don’t increase further, or if there can be some discounts, that would be the best,\u201d said Mr Wong.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to accept that times are changing. We need to adapt and keep up with the changes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other merchants suggested measures such as free lunchtime parking and more community events to attract shoppers and increase footfall.<\/p>\n
Woodlands Mart, a neighbourhood mall in the area, has seen visitor numbers rise during events held at its atrium.<\/p>\n
Retailers there said more of such activities could help raise awareness of the heartland mall and draw more visitors, particularly once the RTS Link opens.<\/p>\n
Sembawang West Member of Parliament Poh Li San acknowledged that some businesses may be more affected than others when the RTS Link opens.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will take this chance to work with them to see how we can help them, in terms of managing their business costs, (bringing) more footfall \u2026 (and) items that will also benefit the residents.\u201d<\/p>\n
Woodlands Mart, which is nearly three decades old, is also preparing for the future with plans for a facelift.<\/p>\n
These include upgraded escalators, toilets, and, possibly, a sheltered event space, alongside efforts to refresh the mall’s tenant mix.<\/p>\n
Grassroots leaders are exploring ways to inject more vibrancy into the area.<\/p>\n
Ms Poh said: \u201cI think all in all, it is about how we can really create hyper-local kinds of activities that are very well coordinated with their lifestyles \u2026 to make it more convenient and comprehensive for our residents.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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CALLS FOR CONTINUED SUPPORT Retailers said help with business costs would go a long way in helping them stay afloat. Some pointed to CDC vouchers…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":61735,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2611],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-61734","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-headlines","wpcat-2611-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61734","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=61734"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61734\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/61735"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=61734"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=61734"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=61734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}