The last couple of months saw some of the biggest online shopping sprees in Singapore – online flash sales, Black Fridays and the recently concluded 12.12 Online Fever. Online websites such as Zalora, Taobao, Rakuten, ASOS and many more are probably busy preparing for their Christmas sales now as well.
Just when more and more people are moving online to do their shopping, current chairman of TANGS Singapore, Mr Tang Wee Sung is confident that physical retail space will still continue to retain its relevance in this connected generation.
Singaporean spend 10 per cent on e-commerce
In a report by Channel NewsAsia, Mr Tang acknowledges the growth in the e commerce space and that TANGS is also “fighting the challenge from e-commerce”.
“Singapore customers, people who live in Singapore, spend only about 10 per cent of their purchases on e-commerce and the reason is I think we are a small country, shopping is very accessible so there is no need to be on e-commerce. Let me say that e-commerce will never replace brick-and-mortar shops. It is another way of shopping just like before e-commerce there was the catalogue. So e-commerce and brick and mortar shops will always co-exist,” said Mr Tang, according to the same report on Channel News Asia.
For those unfamiliar with TANGS, TANGS is the first retailer along the Orchard Road shopping belt back in the 1950s. TANGS is the oldest home-bred department store in Singapore, and was founded by Tang Choon Keng, popularly known as CK Tang, in 1932. The vibrancy of Orchard Road today is often credited to the early presence of TANGS.
According to the Visa Consumer Payment Attitudes Study 2014, the findings have shown that 50% of Singaporeans would do all their shopping online if possible, ranking highest in the region.
So Singaporeans, do you spend only about 10 per cent of your purchases on e-commerce?