Insights into the growth of Singapore’s ecommerce profiling payment methods, target audiences, marketing, social media, economy and logistics
Economy
Singapore is home to 5.6 million people with a total GDP of US$334.83 billion and is ranked as the 2nd richest country by 2021 GDP Per Capita (US$102,742), according to the World Bank GDP per capita rankings.
Digital User Insights
There are currently 3.07 million ecommerce users in Singapore, predicted to reach 4.09 million by 2025 who will spend an average of US$979 online.
Dividing internet usage into age groups gives a better picture of the Singaporean ecommerce market – 95% of 16-24 year-olds, 98% of 25-34 year-olds, and 92% of 35-44 year-olds log on daily. The older generations also log on regularly with 45-54 year-olds and over 55s showing a 86% and 78% daily penetration rate, respectively.
Product Categories
Total Singaporean ecommerce revenue across all product categories is US$2.4 billion, and is expected to grow to US$4 billion by 2025. Electronics and Media is currently the leading product category in Singapore, accounting for US$570 million market share, followed by Fashion, which generated US$522 million in sales in 2020.
By 2025, Electronics and Media will still be the most purchased online category, with a value of US$925 million and Fashion will become the second most popular category with an expected worth of US$855 million.
Logistics
In 2018, Singapore was ranked 7th in the World Bank Logistics ranking, beating the UK, US, and Australia.
Preferred Online Payments
56% of Singaporean shoppers use credit cards when shopping online, and bank transfer, cash-on-delivery, direct debit and eNETS are also popular.
Internet and Device Usage
Internet penetration in Singapore is currently 88.5%, and should reach 93.5% by 2025. Smartphone penetration is a little less (82%), but is projected to grow to 83.7% in the next four years.
74% of online shoppers in Singapore buy via desktop, a stark contrast to the amount of smartphone (18%) and tablet (5%) shoppers.
Marketing
Total marketing spend in Singapore has risen in recent years, as advertisers steadily invest more in digital advertising. In 2020, total ad spend in Singapore reached US$965 million and predicted to reach US$1.2 billion by 2025.
Social Media
Singapore currently has 4.82 million social network users, a figure expected to increase to 5.09 million by 2025, thanks to YouTube, Facebook, Whatsapp and Instagram, which are the leading social networks.
