Gamifying Retail: Supermarket Leader Unlocks New Shopping Experience
Facing the shift in consumer preferences, Hong Kong's retail sector is adopting diverse strategies: Apparel brands are introducing cafes that emphasize natural & simple aesthetics, while sports retailers organize yoga sessions and camping trips to reinforce their expertise. As the market pioneer, PARKnSHOP continues to lead the new retail landscape through innovative marketing and digital engagement strategies, including market segmentation for personalized services, gamified shopping experiences,
and a strong commitment to promoting sustainability.
In May, PARKnSHOP unveiled FOOD PARC at Hopewell Mall, a 20,000-square-foot venue featuring six curated gourmet zones. Highlights include premium Japanese and Korean two-course meals, French pastries by Michelin-starred chefs, and an extensive selection of nearly 10,000 international specialty items. The space also debuts Hong Kong's first “TREAT VIP Lounge,” offering MoneyBack VIP members an exclusive environment for an upscale lifestyle. Freda Ng, Managing Director of PARKnSHOP, noted that their stores offer cooking workshops, family play zones, and tasting events, etc, transforming routine shopping into a leisure and entertainment experience.
Freda said, “PARKnSHOP is committed to introducing eye-catching, cost-effective, and highly recommended products. Shopping at the supermarket is meant to bring joy to everyone, and the ‘gamification experience’ is an emerging industry trend. Whether online or offline, we aim to deliver a more enjoyable gamified experience.”
Mascot Magic Charms the Masses
Gamification in retail is a key strategy to enhance brand awareness, customer loyalty, and drive sales. According to the Harvard Business Review, a 5% improvement in customer engagement can yield profit increases of 25% to 95%. PARKnSHOP has introduced its refreshed slogan, “BEST, EASY, VALUE.” alongside two mascots, “BEST GUY” and “EASY,” as new brand ambassadors. Complementing these are the lame jokes (named “笑通佳” in Chinese): riddle cards infused with supermarket-themed humour are placed on product shelves to engage consumers in a light-hearted way. Beyond expectations, the lame jokes has gained significant online traction, with some posts reaching over 100,000 views and becoming a hot topic among netizens.
Freda elaborates, “ ‘BEST GUY’ represents a smart and quality-conscious personality, while ‘EASY’ symbolizes dynamic curiosity and vibrancy. Together, they fully embody PARKnSHOP’s core values — continuous innovation and curated exclusive offerings, delivering customers the best, most convenient, and value-for-money shopping experience. Since their launch, the brand ambassadors warmly embraced by audiences, featuring not only in promotional materials and private-label product packaging, while also inspiring related merchandise, such as festive items like the “百便佳蛋燈籠 (Lanterns with BEST GUY & EASY).”
Tech-Driven Real-time Retail to Enhance Freshness
Contemporary consumers are adept at Offline & Online (O+O) shopping, and expect fast order fulfillment, personalized offers, and easy access to information. PARKnSHOP leverages digital technologies and intelligent infrastructure to ensure seamless experiences, including the “Express Delivery” (快趣送) service for one-hour online purchase delivery;
“MoneyBack” (易賞錢) exclusive member offers; and discount offer campaign named “百加樂” in Chinese. At the same time, the retail giant has implemented GS1 HK's 1QR (QR codes with GS1 Standards) on private label products to make it easy for customers to access detailed information.
“To support the AS Watson’s O+O strategy and respond swiftly to customer demands, we established a 300,000-square-ft PNS Online
Business Fulfilment Centre. We collaborated with partners such as GS1 HK to build a digital supply chain, including a Transportation Management System (TMS) for real-time monitoring. This simplifies logistics processes, ensures sufficient inventory, and enables clear and transparent delivery process - all critical to achieving our expedited delivery capability, which can be as fast as one hour.”
“PARKnSHOP is committed to sourcing quality products and now offers nearly 2,000 organic or sustainable items, including over 120 vegan options and more than 50 sustainable seafood selections. 1QR supports us to showcase product sustainability information, consumers can simply scan the QR code on the product packaging with their phones to access details such as product origin and sustainability certifications, aligning with consumers’ behavior of searching for information online before purchase.”
Eat. Share. Love.
As Hong Kongers increasingly embrace wellness and eco-conscious choices, PARKnSHOP, rooted in Hong Kong for over 50 years, stays ahead of the curve. With its long focus on environmental protection, human well-being, and product quality, the retailer has made concerted efforts in promoting food saving and waste reduction, elevating food safety, and enabling consumers & community to “shop confidently and consume with assurance”, embodying the social purpose of “Eat. Share. Love.” “We have launched diverse and comprehensive sustainability initiatives, key efforts include a partnership with Food Angel, donating over 5,000 tons of food this year to produce more than 16 million meals for those in need. We have also introduced the ‘Return & Recreate: Plastics Recycle Programme’ with Kao, where online shopping delivery teams collect plastic bottles directly from customers’ doorsteps to recreate into products such as flower pots. In selected PARKnSHOP stores, “Nake Buy” options encourage customers to bring their own containers for personal care products or fresh fruits and vegetables to reduce plastic use.”“Additionally, we also pioneered “Farm Check” program in Hong Kong, which employs comprehensive monitoring to ensure vegetable traceability from farm to shelf, upholding stringent quality and safety protocols.”
Global Outreach Forges Retail Future
Freda was recently nominated as a member of the GS1 Board and officially appointed at the GS1 Global Assembly. The event was joined by Chairmen from GS1 member organisations, CEOs and leaders from over 100 countries, who exchanged insights on “Building Bridges for a "Better Tomorrow."
“I am grateful to join the GS1 Board of Directors, bringing the unique characteristics and challenges of the Hong Kong and Macau retail markets to the international stage, enabling other markets to better understand the regional situation and promote cross-region exchange and collaboration. The Assembly highlighted global precedents showing how retail and supply chain transformations are accelerating worldwide. For example, the innovative application of artificial intelligence (AI) by India’s largest retailer provided me with much inspiration and valuable lessons.”
“As a long-term partner of GS1 HK, PARKnSHOP has continuously supported initiatives like the 2D Barcode Industry Task Force to drive digitalization and sustainability. By sharing the Group’s practical experience in retail operations, I hope to enhance the local industry’s understanding and adoption of new technologies and trends like 2D barcodes, helping them overcome challenges and achieve transformation.”
