PayPal Stories Archive

 

Singapore, 27 February 2017–  It is no secret that shopping is a favorite pastime of Singaporeans and it seems like the pursuit for purchase will continue to grow despite reports of a slower economic outlook this year. According to a 2016 study conducted by PayPal[1], 38 per cent of online adults intervewed in Singapore[2] think they will be spending more money online in 2017, largely because of the convenience it brings (78 per cent of those who predicted an increase in their online spend gave this as a reason).  

 

In line with Singaporeans’ fast-paced way of life, results indicate an increasing growth in mobile spend as Singaporeans spend more time on their mobile devices, with mobile shopping spend predicted to increase by 42 per cent in 2017 from 2016, amounting to more than S$1.2billion - almost a third of Singaporeans’ forecasted total online spend (S$3.5 billion) .

 

The projected increase in mobile spend comes at a time where Asia Pacific is flying the mobile-first flag, with the region leading in terms of mobile connection penetration. The world truly is at the fingertips of online shoppers in Asia Pacific, with two-thirds (68 per cent) of all cross-border shoppers interviewed in the region making a cross-border purchase on a smartphone in the past 12 months[3] – the highest net incidence out of all regions surveyed.

 

This upward mobile trend has not gone unnoticed by merchants such as luxury e-tailer Reebonzand Asia’s largest fashion e-tailer Zalora, which regularly rolls out app-only promotions for those who turn to their mobile for speedy shopping. The mobile shopping experience is also further propelled by innovations such as PayPal’s One Touch™ that enables a faster, more seamless payment experience on mobile. One Touch™ is PayPal’s single touch payment experience across Android and iOS, where consumers no longer need to log in with a username and password to pay with PayPal and shop at millions of merchant locally and globally. 

 

 

Singaporean’s love for shopping knows no boundaries, and international merchants are certainly benefiting from their hunt for a good deal. Alongside the projected rise in mobile spend this year, total cross-border spend is estimated to increase by 23 per cent from 2016.

 

In 2016, an estimated half a million Singaporeans spent an estimated S$1.2billion in cross-border online commerce alone, with USA (worth an estimated S$361m), China (S$267m) and Japan (S$138m)[6] as the top online shopping destinations. With better prices (selected by 76 per cent of cross-border shoppers as a reason for shopping online in other countries) and access to hard-to-find items (61 per cent) driving them to look overseas, Singaporean online shoppers are determined to get what they want no matter the location. The top three most popular cross-border purchase categories are clothing/apparel and accessories (purchased from online stores in another country by 53 per cent of cross-border shoppers in the past 12 months), travel and transportation (37 per cent) and cosmetics/beauty products (26 per cent).

 

In fact, Singaporeans are the most confident cross-border shoppers in Asia Pacific. One in two (52 per cent) online shoppers in Singapore agree that they trust online stores from other countries as much as stores from the country they live. This is the highest out of all countries surveyed in the region[7].

 

PayPal is a popular payment method for Singaporean cross-border shoppers (59 per cent of cross-border shoppers have used PayPal for cross-border trasactions in the past 12 months). When cross-border shoppers who prefer to use PayPal for their cross-border transactions are asked about why they prefer PayPal, 56 percent attribute it to PayPal being  a secure way to pay, and 50 per cent chose it for its convenience. 41 per cent prefers to pay with PayPal as financial details are not shared with merchants.

 

For cross-border shoppers who have concerns about not receiving the item (37 per cent of cross-border shoppers said this prevented them from shopping cross-border more often), concerns about counterfeit goods (35 per cent) or that the products they receive not matching description (32 per cent), PayPal offers a peace of mind with coverage offerings such as Buyer Protection. PayPal’s Refunded Returns also makes returning goods from overseas easy for consumers on behalf of the merchant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While Singaporeans are forecasted to be spending more online in 2017, there is also a mindfulness in what they are buying. One of the top reasons that Singaporean online adults shared for expecting to increase their online spend in 2017 was to save more money (selected by 36 percent of those who expect an increase in their online spend in the next 12 months).

 

Survey results showed that Singaporeans are also turning their attention to spending on things they need in their day-to-day life, with online spending on necessities predicted to increase in 2017. The top three categories of forecasted growth in total online spend this year are household goods[8] (with a predicted growth of 21 per cent), groceries, food and beverage, and alcohol (predicted growth of 15 per cent), and baby and children’s supplies[9] (predicted growth of 12 per cent). These exceed the forecasted growth of popular shopping categories such as clothing, footwear, accessories (10 per cent growth) and entertainment[10] (8 per cent). 

 

 “Being able to do my grocery shopping online has been incredibly convenient. Seeing my options presented clearly, placing my order after a few clicks, and receiving them at my doorstep really saves me the trouble of fighting the crowds and commuting with my purchases,”  shared 28 year-old executive Sha Jumari, who does weekly ‘online grocery runs’. “Best of all, there are always great deals available online so I get to save while shopping.”

 

For online merchants such as online supermarket RedMart and food delivery services such as foodpanda, the above forecasted growth spells an opportunity for them to reach more customers and be the first stop for their lifestyle necessities.  

 

Mr. Rahul Shinghal, General Manager for PayPal Southeast Asia, said, “2017 looks to be a year of growth and opportunities for savvy businesses that are equipped to take their sales online, on mobile and in-app. This in turn provides endless choices and possibilities for the mobile-savvy generation as they live their lives on the go. But we understand that while people love to shop, they don’t love to pay, so PayPal takes care of that by making it as seamless, convenient and secure to check out the things you need and love. As leaders in digital payment, we are proud to enable merchants to take the best advantage of opportunities by connecting them with consumers regardless of place or space.”