Breaking Ground in the Singaporean Market

Selling in Singapore is well worth considering for any growth-minded international e-commerce merchants as despite the relatively small population of 5.8 million, the imports to the region total hundreds of billions each year in value. This market provides a huge opportunity for growth for UK SMEs and start-ups and we are going to investigate how this could be a potential expansion opportunity for your business.

One reason this market is especially attractive to e-commerce is the 4.7 million internet users Singapore has, boasting an internet penetration rate of 82.5% and an e-commerce penetration rate of 70%, and this figure continues to grow.

Singaporean Shopaholics

Singaporeans love to shop, with shopping malls spread across the nation, but this does not hinder their online shopping addiction. A recent study by Visa showed that 26% of Singaporeans shop online at least once a week, 58% purchase online at least once a month and 50% of Singaporeans would do all their shopping online if they could. For those looking to crack this market, it is importance to consider the customer, for Singaporeans they look for high-quality goods, and request strong levels of services, including a speedy delivery service. High-quality goods are an expanding market in Asia, and Singapore is leading the way, due to their higher level of income.

Markets and Mark-Ups

Singapore was the number 33 economy in the world in terms of GDP (current US$) in 2019. The most popular products on the market are travel-related items, clothing, footwear, entertainment, beauty and grooming with one of the biggest markets being electronic devices and media with a market volume of US$1.996 billion in 2020.

Even though smaller stores and markets within Singapore still revolve around bargaining, with commercial and industrial sectors using hard bargaining techniques as common practices, bigger retail outlets and e-commerce all run on a fixed price basis. Whilst an importer mark-up may be between 20-40%, retail vendors still come away with upwards of 100% mark-ups on their products. Currently the average revenue per consumer (ARPU) currently amounts to US$675.71 and businesses operating in the market revenue is expected to show an annual growth rate (CAGR 2020-2024) of 9.1%, resulting in a market volume of US$3.939 billion by 2024, showing that now is the perfect time for SME’s to begin selling within this market to take opportunity of the future growth.

Ease of Purchase

As with consumers in most areas of the world, it is important to ensure your e-commerce businesses properly investigates the needs of your target audience. For, example, Singaporeans favourite methods of transactions include credit card, PayPal and eNets and therefore it would be vital for any business to ensure they align with these payment methods to avoid carts being abandoned at the purchasing stage. Your site should also be adjustable to the consumers preferred language. In Singapore languages spoken are mainly English, Malay, Tamil and Mandarin Chinese.

Singapore already has a sophisticated and efficient e-commerce industry, meaning that consumers are used to fast and effective shopping experiences. Businesses looking to break into this market should consider the need for fast and cost-effective shipping options as not having this could see your potential customers looking elsewhere.

Amazon Singapore

There are huge numbers of factors to take into consideration when looking to break into the Singaporean market, something which can often seem daunting to start-up and SME’s. A great way to combat this is by looking into the use of Amazon Singapore, one of Amazon’s fastest growing marketplaces! For example, Amazon has a huge network of leading international shipping and logistics experts that offer discounted rates for Amazon sellers that are expanding their business, and Aramex is one of them. You wouldn’t need to worry about costly shipping services or scouting for a supplier that has infrastructure in the region.

As a leading e-commerce provider, Amazon has a wide range of payment options available, including those loved by Singaporeans. There are many benefits to start-ups and SME’s working with a larger company like Aramex through Amazon, but this even more prevalent when looking to break ground in a market like Singapore due to Aramex’s huge infrastructure.

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