Can Ecommerce Save Singapore’s Post Covid Retail Bloodbath


Posted July 28, 2020 by marcomm

We delve into how retailers in Singapore can leverage the ecommerce opportunity to tide through the Covid-19 crisis.

 
Singapore has been hailed in the global community for the quick and effective steps taken to contain the spread of Covid-19. Apart from airport health checks, the country state carried out extensive testing of suspected cases; conducted rapid contact tracing of every confirmed case; confined infected contacts to their homes with strict monitoring and tracking until they recovered from the infection.

Unfortunately, the circuit breaker measures taken to contain the pandemic severely impacted Singapore’s retail sector – sales were down to 40% in April and 52% in May 2020 (compared to April-May 2019). This has been the steepest decline in Singapore’s retail sales since 1986 when the data was first recorded.

While lockdown restrictions were eased in June, sales didn’t see much of a revival, mostly due to safety & hygiene apprehensions and the absence of high-spending tourists. Unsurprisingly, retail outlets in prime areas like Jewel, Marina Bay Sands and VivoCity were among the worst hit.

The Silver Linings in Singapore’s Post-COVID Retail Landscape
The solace amidst this collective downward spiral is the 56% growth in sales for supermarkets/hypermarkets and a 9% sales spike for convenience stores and minimarts. Shares of Singapore’s third-largest supermarket chain Sheng Siong rose 39% and RedMart, the Lazada-owned online grocery service, registered 11X more unique visitors on a daily basis during the pandemic.

Grocery and hypermarkets aren’t the only sectors thriving in Singapore’s bleak, post-COVID retail landscape. Ecommerce registered a blistering growth of 125% in May and accounted for a record high of 25% of $1.8 billion in total retail sales for the month.

In a nutshell, the COVID pandemic supercharged what was already one of the fastest-growing ecommerce markets in Southeast Asia. At its current rate, Singapore’s ecommerce sales is expected to hit a staggering US$10 billion in 2020.

Can Ecommerce Redeem Singapore’s Retailers
Based on our learnings in partnering with 400+ global retail brands and first-hand experience in helping large brick and mortar retailers to transition into the online space, here’s how Singapore retailers can make the ecommerce plunge easier, smoother and cost-effective.
• Test the waters with social commerce
• Do a hands-off approach with a full-stack ecommerce solution provider
• Sell through WhatsApp and ship from store

Way Forward
There exists no playbook to predict the long term economic and social impact of COVID-19. Smart retailers should closely analyze the landscape to identify opportunities and obstacles. The global response to this pandemic has fundamentally altered the reality for retailers. This is a fact all retailers should face and start adapting to.

For detailed insights visit https://www.capillarytech.com/blog/capillary/ecommerce/ecommerce-singapore-covid-retail/
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Issued By Capillary Technologies
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Categories Retail , Software , Technology
Tags ecommerce in singapore , ecommerce solutions singapore , singapore ecommerce
Last Updated July 28, 2020