June 1, 2020 
It’s been a while since Singapore’s circuit breaker; Singapore has shown immense change in the way the citizens live, business strategies, practically everything has taken a turn.
It was good to see how Singapore split work arrangements, shift work and take measures to curtail the spread of Covid-19 on Singapore. It is amazing to see the change in consumer behavior. It’s dramatic and makes sure that businesses really make an attempt to go digital.
How is Singapore’s eCommerce Market Picking up This 2020?
Singapore is a nation which has dealt with Covid-19 in the most comprehensible manner. Without any surprise, Singapore’s eCommerce profits have been going all the way up.
A prediction by a recent study states that there is a high likelihood to see Singapore’s eCommerce profits upscale by about 45% by 2022. A revolutionary study by Visa found that about 80% of Singaporeans have a tendency to shop online once in a month, on an average. These kinds of statistics make the GDP per capita of USD 63,990 very believable and impressive as well.
However, do not worry; things are looking up slowly. Singapore has been a true inspiration for the rest of the world due to its strategies and proactive measures to combat Covid-19 the best way possible.
Supply- Related Issues & Changes
You may be aware of a piece of news from the recent past that China extended the Golden Week celebrations the Covid-19 spread. This led to an issue; global eCommerce supply chains got disrupted. Outcome being, companies started running low on (even out of) inventories.
In order to keep demand-supply chains ongoing seamlessly, the chains need to go in-sync. However, the demand for almost all eCommerce products did not reduce as quickly as its supply. This led to huge losses in revenue, SMEs went out of business in no time and more.
Post the Golden Week, China did open their factories. However, the rise in cases, border closures, and other factors affected air travel big time. This led to a hike in the prices for all.
Demand- Related Issues
Local and global businesses have been affected largely by Corona virus. Retail markets in most countries have been shut down. Industries like retail, tourism, F&B have severely been impacted as well. This change may be seen for a longer time, tightening belts of several businesses.
A recent study about consumer behavior in Singapore states that about 76% of respondents strongly believed that the economy is further going to depreciate due to the post-COVID situation. It’s definitely going to be worse out there post-COVID. Another study by Straits Times indicates that purchase of luxury items are not going to happen as frequently as they used to, the economy is going to really take a wild turn!
The demand is changing, the world is showing the same changes as Singapore is like, investing in essentials than non-essential items; chocolate sales depreciating by 70% due to no-contact with the outside world and more. As a business owner, you need to adapt to this change and keep going.
How Can Your Business Take off During and Post Covid-19?
Singapore has taken some great and start steps in order to keep their economy from declining, keeping safety in mind. Explore opportunities your business would’ve wanted but you may have been too comfortable to try it out:
- Make your eCommerce space more communicative, proactive and engaging
- Come up with unique tracking styles, helping customers know what’s really happening to their product pre-delivery
- Take inspiration from campaigns by brands like IKEA; the Make Home Count Campaign helped create resonating messages for customers, using their eCommerce platform
- Bring in concepts like brand loyalty; display empathy with passion for your products. Your customers sure won’t leave you
- Retail brands can also try out eCommerce; there’s no harm in going digital and having stores
- Build a robust supply-chain; this’ll help in seamless delivery experiences
- China can move from the focus; try investing in other nations who can provide you with what China did
- Hire logistics partners who can really make a difference to your business for the best
As a business owner, retail brand manager, entrepreneur, you can keep the following measures Singapore took and the entire world should follow:
- Tight business regulations with regard to business continuity
- Measures taken in order to ensure safety of employees, consumers and other stakeholders
- Compulsory implementation of hygiene measures like cleaning and disinfecting workspaces, temperature screening, shift & split work arrangements and more
- Contactless delivery of products from the beginning to the end of supply chain
- Invest in developing businesses, if you wish to
- Go digital (if you still haven’t)
For now, all you need to do is, plan your work out and see what works best for your business. Look into your business needs, demands and supply; see if you can open your retail store. If that is possible, maintain government regulations and stay strong! If not, go digital and still keep your business going.in this time of difficulty, we need to stay patient and not act out at any point.
Stay home. Stay safe.
