Finally! Amazon has officially launched in Singapore, becoming Southeast Asia’s first country to get their own dedicated Marketplace from the world’s largest online retailer. While shoppers in the region could previously access Amazon.com, the shipping fees were exorbitant (and understandably so, since distribution abroad is expensive). Now that Amazon.sg is up and running, it’s more feasible for businesses to sell products in Southeast Asia—including through the FBA program—and, more importantly, it will make it much more affordable for consumers. Items currently for sale (at the time of publishing this article) fall under the categories of Books, Video Games, Consumer Electronics, Baby & Toys, and Home & Kitchen.
Studies show that over 60% of Singaporeans admit to being shopaholics. The country’s obsession is actually rooted in window shopping, a hobby that most of them find relaxing to do on weekends or days off. And while Singapore is said to be committed to shopping in its physical form, it seems that even this island can’t escape the ever-rising trend of e-commerce.
Market Trending … Up!
There are a variety of reasons to consider expanding your business to Amazon Singapore. One of the main reasons being an increase in e-commerce revenue in the Singapore economy. Singapore’s projected annual growth rate in e-commerce is 14.7%. The market volume is expected to reach $8.64 billion by 2023. It’s no secret that Amazon’s Marketplaces attract millions of customers and the Singapore marketplace is likely to be a huge contribution to this revenue. Also, the Singapore government is actively supporting consumer-centric innovation, which means there is no adversity when it comes to a conglomerate aimed at stopping e-commerce growth.
Demographic
It’s no secret that online shopping is especially popular with young adults. That fact, mixed with the notion that Singaporeans love shopping, is enough to accumulate a large, new consumer base for your business. 25 to 45-year-olds are the group who most frequently shop online in Singapore.
The majority of online shopping is done by millennials: 79% of millennials in Asia Pacific shopped online in 2015, which was the highest number globally! 2 in 5 of these customers shopped cross-border. It’s also good to note that there is a growing trend toward shopping on mobile devices! This indicates that shoppers are looking for a more convenient way to shop.
Here are a few tips on how to make your products more appealing to Singaporean shoppers:
- Free shipping or lower shipping cost
- Hard-to-find items
- Quick deliver
- Secure way to pay
- Deals! Singapore loves deals. They can’t resist a bargain
PingPong loves when Amazon establishes new global marketplaces because it gives us even more sellers to provide our payment services to! There are so many opportunities out there for ambitious entrepreneurs. This is just the first step. And PingPong wants to be there from the start.
