Badly hit by circuit breaker, Tekka Market stallholders are live-streaming to sell their wares

With everyone staying in out of necessity, the coronavirus has unlocked a new level of relationship between people and the food they make at home. 

Now, more than ever, folks are dipping their toes into culinary experimentation — and as every good cook would know, fresh ingredients are key to restaurant-quality nosh. 

Now, thanks to the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and creative agency BLKJ, aspiring home chefs can get access to the freshest produce, meats and vegetables over the internet without leaving their homes and without compromising the experience of shopping at wet markets. 

Tekka Market, the country’s oldest wet market, has officially gone online. The initiative is designed to help out both the sellers and consumers, especially seniors who prefer getting their goods from wet markets and actually interact with the vendors. 

Taking a note from live-streaming fishmonger Max Kee of Jurong Fishery Port’s Lian Huat Seafood, six Tekka Market stall owners have started hawking their wares over Facebook Live today. Popular stalls such as halal butchery Haji M N Shahul Hameed Marketing and seafood vendors 81 Sheng Yu have signed up. 

The process is pretty simple, really. One simply has to tune in to the live-stream and watch the sellers market their items and answer queries posted in the comments section of the live-stream. Orders can also be posted in the comments section and the page will reply with a summarised list of items and its total price. 

Payment is made via PayNow, and once that’s verified, the order will be sent out on the very same day. There are no delivery charges if the order goes above $20, which should be easy enough to pull off when one goes shopping for groceries. 

All participating stallholders have been mentored by Kee, the seasoned Facebook Live seller who is helping out for free. 

“…I know how tough it is and I’m really honoured to be able to share learnings from my experience with Tekka sellers to help them on this journey they’re taking,” Kee remarked. 

Considering that Tekka Market is one of the worst-affected wet markets during the heightened social distancing measures, its stallholders are willing to adopt new ways to keep their business going. 

“Of course it’s easier to just keep doing business the same way,” notes 81 Sheng You founder Janet. 

“But I hope by putting in the time and effort to try to something different, I will be able to get more customers, more business.”

ilyas@asiaone.com