E-commerce sales in Singapore to accelerate further due to COVID-19

Singapore, one of the fastest growing e-commerce markets in South East Asia, has experienced a surge in e-commerce transactions post the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. The rise in consumer preference for online purchases during the outbreak will have a long-lasting effect on the country’s e-commerce market, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.
An analysis of GlobalData’s e-commerce analytics reveals that the e-commerce market in Singapore, which grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.4 percent between 2015 and 2019 to reach S$8.3bn (US$6.2bn) in 2019, is estimated to reach S$9.5bn (US$9.5bn) in 2020. Furthermore, with social distancing norms in place to curtail the spread of the virus, consumers are now favoring stay-home model to carry out purchases.
Sowmya Kulkarni, Banking and Payments Senior Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “The pandemic, which triggered fear of contamination, has resulted in change in consumer buying behavior. Shopping centers/malls are now being avoided and consumers are choosing online platforms for their day-to-day purchases. The accessibility to products online, during the crisis, has not only increased the number of online shopping transactions but has also converted several offline shoppers to online.”
The government is also taking initiatives to boost e-commerce sales in the country. In April 2020, Enterprise Singapore (ESG) introduced E-commerce Booster Package to aid SME retailers to transform their offline business to online channel. The package aims to support up to 90 percent of the total cost incurred by the SMEs to set-up their business online.
Sowmya concludes: “The uptrend in online shopping is expected to continue even after the outbreak is controlled. The various benefits associated with e-commerce purchases like convenience, cost, rewards etc, will likely see online shopping becoming the new normal.”