Singaporeans embrace e-marketplaces amidst explosive mobile usage

They are amongst APAC’s biggest patrons of food delivery and ride-sharing platforms.

Over three quarters (77%) of Singaporeans have visited an ecommerce marketplace to buy or sell something in the past twelve months, according to a report by Stripe. 

Eight in 10 locals believe that marketplaces serve an important function by helping them find products and services they wouldn’t otherwise find.

More than 80% cite the ability of marketplaces to track and cancel orders, input discounts during checkout, discover new offerings and connect with relevant products and services as the main strengths of online marketplaces.

“These marketplaces aren’t just changing the way we travel, shop and commute, they are fundamentally changing the internet economy, creating new commercial experiences that cannot exist in the offline world and driving the next wave of growth online,” Piruze Sabuncu, Head of Southeast Asia and Hong Kong, Stripe said in a statement.

In fact, 67% of Singaporeans claim that they spend more money on online marketplaces than anywhere else, a figure higher than the global and APAC average of 56% and 60% respectively. 

Residents of the Lion City were also the biggest users of food delivery (52%) and ride-sharing platforms (52%) out of the nine countries surveyed although their use of marketplaces dealing with hotel and hospitality and restaurant reservation is second to Hong Kong.

In terms of access, half (55%) of locals access marketplaces via their smartphones. Credit cards still remain as the top preferred payment method of Singaporeans at 51% followed by debit (27%) and digital wallet (18%)

“The unique scalability of the online marketplace model has been absolutely central to this growth. Sellers will always want a larger potential customer base, whilst buyers want added value and options tailored to their needs,” said Chris Urban, Managing Director (Singapore), honestbee.