July 19, 2021 
The latest technological trends, advancements, and of course the ever-evolving buying behaviour have paved the way for high eCommerce growth prospects. This has encouraged businesses across the globe to shift their focus from traditional commerce to going online and exploring the potential target customer base out there. And, when businesses make up their mind to expand their operations, and sales boundaries overseas, it is quite common to ponder about the lucrative countries for establishing an online presence. And, the latest statistics point towards Singapore among the top 4 Asian Tigers to be the ultimate destination.
The query “why Singapore?” is kind of moot as there are quite convincing statistics out there already. For starters, 73% of Singapore citizens (with the internet) have made an online purchase. And 54% of them leveraged the go-to mobile devices while 47% have made use of a desktop computer or a laptop for online shopping. So, it is evident that there is a vast crowd of online shoppers there in Singapore and businesses won’t be disappointed at the outset.
Singapore’s eCommerce market revenue was expected to reach $2.33 billion in 2020 with a whopping 28.4% Y-o-Y growth avenues. Before businesses go out all in their strategic initiatives into delving into Singaporean online marketplaces, they need to take a step back and evaluate the entry, sustenance, and growth prospects. Businesses have to take an inventory of their product portfolio and see if they have what the Singaporean customers are looking for. Now, this gets interesting. What do Singaporeans look for when they are raiding online marketplaces and shopping sites?
According to Datareportal, the travel and accommodation industry in Singapore is worth 3.641 billion USD with the electronics and media industry trailing at 1.080 billion USD and the fashion, and beauty industry at 0.999 billion USD. The food and personal care domain is the next best avenue with 47% YoY growth while the toys, DIY, and hobbies industry is at 40% YoY growth. Well, businesses with a versatile portfolio for the above-mentioned verticals are assured to get hassle-free market penetration in Singapore and quite a good share, or revenue, and ROI. While the Singaporean online marketplace is not devoid of fierce competition, the growth prospects and revenue streams are in abundance, which is favourable for the new entrant businesses.
When it comes to thriving online marketplaces in Singapore, Lazada endorsed by Alibaba surely claims the top post with Qoo10, Carousell, Shopee, Ezbuy, eBay, and Harveynorman trailing behind. Though Amazon Singapore claims the 8th spot on the ladder, it offers several cutting-edge advantages to the businesses eyeing to break into the vast and lucrative Singapore market. Singapore being the first Southeast Asian country to get its own Amazon marketplace is a vote of confidence on its own. Though Amazon’s entry into the Singapore market was in 2019, the success in just a couple of years says a lot about the viability of eCommerce in Singapore. Amazon’s massive international presence, as well as its FBA feature, makes the Amazon Singapore marketplace an ideal one to craft a niche of its own in Singapore.
Despite Singapore being a relatively small country with a thin population density of just 6 million, it enjoys a 70% eCommerce penetration. And, thus Amazon Singapore is the go-to marketplace for businesses to establish their presence and sell not only in Singapore but also to get access to a host of other high-growth South-East Asian countries. Amazon Singapore also offers dedicated Account Managers, so businesses don’t have to break their heads over learning the nuances of the platform, and navigating their way through.
And, signing up for Amazon Singapore is fairly straightforward, easy, quick, and hassle-free. Businesses after registering in Seller Central, are free to start listing on the Amazon.sg market. It will take just 5 steps for businesses to sign up and get started. Businesses with a portfolio of automotive and scientific products may need to seek additional approvals.
When it comes to order fulfillment, businesses can enjoy a greater advantage with Amazon’s FBA services. Freight shipping is also an alternative that businesses may explore.
Got more questions on selling on Amazon Singapore? Stay tuned for more updates or better, connect with the experts at Vinculum right away!
