Singaporeans to Santa: “You Can Do Better!”

SINGAPORE — 8 December 2016 — SAP Hybris today released the results of the SAP Hybris Singapore Christmas Shopper survey, which revealed that more than half of Singapore consumers (51 per cent) were dissatisfied with the Christmas gifts they received over the last three years. This is likely due to the lack of planning amongst the majority of Singaporeans, who do not typically create their shopping lists ahead of time; 39 per cent of survey respondents purchase as they browse in-store for gifts. In fact, the survey found that almost one in five respondents purchase items for everyone on their list (16 per cent) or shop at the last minute and simply buy whatever is convenient (17 per cent).

More than 1,000 consumers in Singapore were surveyed to uncover their Christmas shopping habits, with revealing results. Despite the Christmas shopping hype, almost one fifth (19 per cent) did not even receive Christmas gifts over the last three years, and another 24 per cent are not actually in the habit of buying Christmas gifts for their loved ones. Amongst those who do shop for Christmas gifts, 69 per cent will try to personalise gifts for at least their close friends and family. 

With high Internet and mobile penetration rates[1], it is of little wonder that Christmas online shopping is picking up among Singaporeans. The e-commerce market in Singapore is expected to be worth US$5.4 billion (S$7.46 billion) by 2025, according to a report by Temasek and Google released earlier in May this year[2], and is expected to make up 6.7 per cent of all retail sales by 2025.

When asked to rank the importance of retail offerings, the research also found that Singapore shoppers want cross-channel options more than new-age services like digital wallets and augmented reality store experiences. When it comes to Christmas shopping, Singaporeans prefer retailers with a physical store coupled with both e-commerce and mobile app (68 per cent), as well as those who offer self-pickup services at physical store (54 per cent). In addition, 65 per cent of respondents stated that retailers can improve their Christmas shopping experience by offering free shipping, 48 per cent believed on-time delivery would be a benefit, and 41 per cent noted that gift customization would signal yet another improvement.

“Singaporeans are amongst the most tech-savvy spenders in Asia, and no strangers to e-commerce. Despite that and reports of Singapore’s continuously challenging retail landscape, the brick and mortar stores are definitely not dead. In fact, the SAP Hybris survey found that 39 per cent of Singaporeans still enjoy browsing through stores. This reinforces what we have been telling retailers for some time: Singapore is a truly multi-channel market, where most consumers are using a combination of devices in their online and offline shopping. The findings also point us to a future where offline and online shopping are no longer two separate business models. Singaporeans are demanding a seamless omnichannel shopping experience,” added Kontopoulos.