Skip to main content

A peek into Singapore's retail transformation in the last decade.

By


The retail industry has undergone massive transformation in the last 10 years. The use of social media, the flexibility of payment, improved logistics, and the prevalent use of smartphones have contributed to the rapid growth of the online retail scene; now enhanced through the developed marketplaces and fulfillment network.

In Singapore alone, there are at least 6 marketplaces to reach out to customers. Qoo10 Singapore started in 2010, Lazada and Zalora both launched in 2012 and Shopee joined the crowd in 2015. With the high traffic and low set up cost, most sellers have stores in multiple marketplaces in a bid to increase sales channels.

For small and medium enterprises (SMEs), managing multiple marketplaces can be a logistical challenge. With different dashboards and rules, listing and updating all your SKUs will be the first stumbling block amongst other tasks like order processing, arranging fulfilment's, handling enquiries and maintaining reviews.

Sellers can participate in promotional activities within marketplaces to jump-start in getting the first few orders. But a consistent effort to garner decent chat response time and positive reviews will drive confident results in getting orders in the long run. Furthermore, managing search algorithm and purchase data is the key hustle and bustle to increasing sales and reducing obsolete inventory.

Faced with Singapore’s small domestic market and slow economic growth, it is vital for Singapore sellers to venture beyond Singapore marketplaces. And with that, it will take approximately 12 months to reach a healthy monthly GMV. So, how can SMEs get ready for this?


Like how online retail scene developed with the demands of users, the evolution of marketplaces stimulated the birth of enablers. Enablers are third-party companies that manage marketplaces on behalf of sellers; and some of them have their own propriety software. In one single dashboard, sellers can easily align SKUs, publish listings, complete fulfillment and sync inventory across all Singapore and Overseas marketplaces; easing the cumbersome task of syncing bulk data.  This propel SMEs in their growth by reducing overhead cost and logistical woes. Enabler is at heart a partner of the seller to champion the essential task of growing sales.

Moreover, eligible businesses adopting enabler solutions can now receive 70% subsidy from Enterprise Singapore; a government agency supporting Singapore SMEs to develop, upgrade capabilities, innovate, transform, and internationalize. This subsidy bolsters SMEs to expand to overseas marketplaces and participate in marketing activities in the first 12 months, in hope to reach a healthy GMV by the start of second year.

So, the next development in e-retail world is now here, selling to customers without borders. Are you ready for it?

- Article Contributed by Cindy Chiah

Popular posts from this blog

Pros and Cons of Cash on Delivery payment in E-commerce!!!

By
Cash on Delivery payment in E-tailing is  the most preferred form of payment by the customers these days. Cash on Delivery option is not available in many countries. But some countries in Asia like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Thailand, Nepal etc. support Cash on Delivery option in E-tailing. These are the pros of Cash on Delivery payment: Cash on Delivery option is supported by many E-commerce sites in some countries of Asia, India being a part of it. Cash on Delivery (COD) is preferred by online buyers who would like to check the product before paying for it.  This is advantageous for the customers as they can check the product before paying for it. Another advantage of COD is that many people in rural areas of India and many other countries who do not have credit cards and debit cards can buy products online. COD is supported by many E-commerce sites to attract  online buyers who are not comfortable  to reveal their credit or debit card details online. Cons
Read more

5 Major challenges faced by e-Commerce sellers and ways to overcome it!

By
Based on a report by Google and Temasek Holdings, Southeast Asia’s (SEA) digital market could exceed US$200 billion before 2025. Southeast Asia’s digital economy is forecast to triple its size in the next 5 years. Read more on the challenges faced as a seller in the E-commerce marketplace, to help you decipher and be part of this immensely growing economy. E-commerce stores are on the rise due to a numerous reasons.  As far as market association is concerned, E-commerce sites already have an existing network of buyers. So, selling your products becomes relatively easy as branding and advertising is already taken care of.As  Sigmund Freud 's had rightly said  “ I carefully consider my decisions as everything comes with pros and cons! ”  Marketplace Management When it comes to South-East Asian E-commerce market, the most underestimated struggle is  Fragmentation  i.e. there are a number of e-commerce platforms in ASEAN countries attracting significant traffic, making
Read more

BE IN LOCAL, GO ON GLOBAL: How to be a local manufacturer and also be global online seller.

By
The Success of a Manufacturer depends on,  how well his products are purchased by the consumers. The timeline of international trade dates back to the Sumerian Era of Mesphotomien region (around 2000 to 3000 BCE) and then to the Chola Era of Southern India. If we delve deeper into it,  we see the Incense Trade Route is much older than the Silk Trade Route.  The  Incense trade route included a network of a major ancient land and sea trading routes linking the Mediterranean world with eastern and southern sources of incense, spice and other luxury goods (gold, silver, ivory and precious stones) stretching from Mediterranean ports across the Levant and Egypt through Northeastern Africa and Arabia to India and beyond. During the middle ages, the Silk Trade Route has been formed and trade has been established between the Greco-Roman empires with the Chinese and South Indian Kingdoms. After this, the trade has flourished in the early modern and the Later Moden periods betw
Read more