The expansion of digital channels is in full swing and as commerce moves online, 92% of sellers in Singapore report impacts from third-party cookie depreciation, according to Salesforce.
The second edition of Salesforce’s State of Commerce report is based on a survey of 4,000 commerce practitioners across 25 countries, including 200 from Singapore.
The report also analyses buying data from over 1 billion customers across 54 countries, on how B2B and B2C companies are adapting to a digital-first customer engagement landscape.
Overall, Singapore commerce organisations cited expanding customer base, growing revenue, and global expansion as their top three priorities.
However, respondents said they were held back by the following top three challenges — technology constraints, channel concerns, and resource constraints.
The report also found that, globally, same-site sales grew 44% between the first quarter of 2020 and first quarter 2022 at B2C companies, and 95% at B2B companies.
However, e-commerce sites are the tip of the iceberg as sellers race to meet customer expectations for new buying options.
Singapore respondents expect an average of 52% of revenue to come from digital channels within two years.
Also, mobile wallets and installment plans are seeing a big boost. Meanwhile, the rise of cryptocurrency as a payment option is expected to increase in the coming years.
In Singapore, 85% of respondents accept or plan to implement in two years installments or buy-now-pay-later options.
The majority of Singapore respondents (65%) also said they either accept or plan to accept within two years payments in the form of cryptocurrency.
Further, with bottom lines stretched by inflation — and third-party cookies being depreciated — commerce organisations are focused on putting customer data to work in order to drive efficiency and profitability.
Almost half (49%) of Singapore respondents say automation will be a priority over the next two years.
“We’ve seen rapid transformation of the commerce landscape in Singapore over the past two years, but our latest State of Commerce report shows that businesses are not remaining idle and calling it a day,” said Sujith Abraham, SVP and general manager for ASEAN at Salesforce.
“There is no finish line in an organisation’s transformation race, and it is inspiring to see many already looking ahead to more advanced technologies like automation and cryptocurrency, so that they can sharpen their competitive edge in a digital-first world,” said Abraham.
