The cross-border e-commerce market continues to gain momentum and becomes the key to Singapore's retail industry recovery

According to OCBC Bank, Singapore's retail sales fell 15.3% year-on-year in 2020, especially in December last year, when the country's retail sales fell 3.6% year-on-year.

OCBC economist Howie Lee noted that despite the decline in overall retail sales, sales of computer and telecommunications equipment in Singapore grew 24.8% year-on-year in December 2020 .

Lee said: "This reflects the growing trend of consumer demand for electronic products, as structural changes in the way people interact and work encourage more people to continuously upgrade their technology infrastructure. "

Currently, with the continued rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, Singapore's economy is gradually recovering, and retailers will have to rethink their business strategies and organizations to move towards a post-pandemic retail market.

Notably, the Singapore government’s post -COVID-19 pandemic recovery plan has put e-commerce at the forefront amidst rapidly changing consumer trends and demands.

It is understood that Singapore Enterprise Group is in active discussions with Amazon on introducing new programmes to help local small and medium-sized enterprises ( SMEs) sell overseas , including listing optimisation, customer service and international demand generation.

Over the years, e-commerce competition has been launched on a regional and global scale , and cross-border sales have become a growing segment of e-commerce.

While cross-border sales are still more focused on daily necessities, food and consumer goods play an important role among retailers and manufacturers using e-commerce platforms to meet Asia's demand for international products.

These cross-border businesses offer a full range of services, including import assistance , marketing support , advanced platforms , excellent logistics capabilities, and massive data to help brands target consumers.

This is the case with e-commerce platform Lazada and cross-border marketplace Tmall Global.

Lazada’s head said the growing popularity of e-commerce has reinforced the brand’s belief in building a strong e-commerce infrastructure, in which Lazada has been investing heavily since its founding in 2012.

In Singapore, more consumers are turning online for their daily needs and forming new online shopping habits, which is prompting businesses to digitize their operations and start their e-commerce journey.

Lazada upgraded its cross-border logistics capabilities in 2020, including the launch of its latest warehouse solution, Lazada Fulfilled (FBL), which helps improve the efficiency of cross-border shipping, allowing sellers to upgrade their supply chain solutions.

Cross-border e-commerce not only complements the retail market business by improving shipping efficiency and providing a diverse range of products, consumers can now shop from the comfort and safety of their homes , which also becomes the key to the recovery of Singapore's retail industry.

Cross-border e-commerce market

Southeast Asia