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Following a recent JLL report urging mall owners to lease to more online retailers amidst the rise of e-commerce, a study by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) revealed that Singaporean are more active than their global peers in making purchases via their smartphones.
According to PwC’s 2016 Total Retail Survey, 38 percent of its respondents from the city-state buy products through their phones at least once a month. This is higher than the average for the world and ASEAN region of 28 percent and 37 percent respectively.
But across all types of devices, 60 percent of consumers in Singapore buy products from the internet at least once a month, excluding groceries.
Moreover, the report revealed that the consumers here are not just utilising their mobile devices to purchase online, but also to compare prices. In fact, 55 percent of those polled said they purchase merchandise from the web because it is more affordable.
“It’s clear that cost remains a key driver when making a purchase online. For retailers to remain competitive, they must understand the trend and act on it,” said Charles Loh, PwC’s Consumer and Industrial Products Consulting Leader for Southeast Asia.
PwC’s study involved a total of 23,000 people from across the globe. Of this, 500 are from Singapore and 1,500 from Southeast Asia.
Meanwhile, a JLL report released earlier this week said mall landlords should incorporate online-savvy retailers and lease mall spaces to e-retailers to cope with the growing popularity of e-commerce.
Based on the property consultancy’s research entitled “The Fourth Industrial Revolution: The Impact on Real Estate in Southeast Asia,” it urged mall operators to adopt a multi-channel approach to retain their competitive edge by incorporating lifestyle events and experiences, incorporate online savvy retailers, and capture more online retailers.
“We expect a 20 to 30 percent reduction in retail spaces by 2020 as more sales of these non-experiential goods go online. Asset owners will need to source for alternative tenants or uses for the space,” said JLL’s Regina Lim, the author of the report.
Nikki De Guzman, Editor at CommercialGuru, wrote this story. To contact her about this or other stories email nikki@propertyguru.com.sg
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