WITH the rapid sweep of technology over the retail business industry, the newly- inducted president of the Philippine Retailers Association-Cebu Chapter wants their members to venture in social media to tap the younger market.
The new president of PRA-Cebu, Chester Lim, said less than 10 percent of the retail businesses in Cebu have social media presence.
"We are preparing them to be globally-competitive. We also make sure that they are up-to-date with the technology that they can tap to help their retail business," Lim told SunStar Cebu.
Lim said because of the fast growth rate of millenials using technology in buying for their convenience, brick and mortar businesses should be online.
"It's really fast, the technology and the lifestyle of the people especially the millenials. They have several social media accounts. This is something that the retailers cannot neglect, they have to embrace this kind of happening," he said.
He described the online business environment as a "battle" and urged other retailers to start investing for it.
Lim said that the generation gap between retail executives remain a challenge but younger generation of successors are keen on riding the social media wave.
"We have to consider the millenials since everything now is online. The company whats to tap that sector of the market because it's very big. Fifteen to twenty years from now, those millenials will make up most of the diverse consumer market," he said.
Lim, of the Belmont Group, suceeded Robert Go of Prince Retail Holdings and was inducted on February 18, 2019 in Bayfront Hotel Cebu.
As of now, the PRA-Cebu Chapter has 80 members in their fold and Lim said they are targeting to make it into 300 during his term.
During his stint, Lim plans to encourage more of their members to shift to digitalization by inviting international speakers from around Asia and do seminars.
"We could also bring the speakers here in Cebu because there's also a market for that. As long as you give them the information or the education that will help their business, they will invest for it," he said.