COVID-19 has disrupted much of our lives and businesses but also provided an opportunity for us to adapt and adopt new ways of running our day-to-day activities – paving the way for the rise of e-commerce in Singapore and Southeast Asia.
In Singapore, where GetApp surveyed 1,007 consumers last October, one in five respondents make a purchase online every day.
The survey also showed that the Top 5 products bought online are food and drink (64%), grocery (60%), fashion and accessories (54%), health and beauty (50%) and electronics and household (48%).
Consumers surveyed are split between desktops (45%) and mobile devices (55%), making an omni-channel approach important. Three out of five (63%) Singapore-based consumers are either purchasing on a laptop (29%) or a smartphone e-commerce app (34%).
In Singapore, 71% of consumers spending more online and less in-store and over half of Singapore shoppers expect this to be the norm for the next six months.
The two main reasons Singapore consumers are using online delivery were “to avoid contact with crowds in-store” (58%) and “to receive items at home at my time and convenience” (56%).
As part of phase 2 measures, Singapore’s government has encouraged employees who can work from home to continue doing so. And making home delivery convenient for individuals working remote.
Discounts and promotions also remain high up on shoppers’ lists, with 43% of finding bargains to be an incentive for ordering items online.
More than half (52%) respondents use in-store or pick-up point delivery once or twice times a week or more than 50 times in a year.
Majority of respondents are picking up their ordered item in-store or at pick-up points based on their convenience (63%) and to save on delivery fees (61%).
Close to three quarters (73%) of shoppers are seeking improvements in the basics of online shopping — load speeds, real-time stock checking and checkouts.
Also, more than half (57%) are open to suggested items and platforms that can adapt to their preferences.
