Top best ecommerce sites in Singapore 2023 and how they stand out from the crowd

With the rapid development of ecommerce recently, Singapore has been a preferred hub for online businesses. Therefore, it’s important for any businesses who want to enter this prospect market to research top Singapore ecommerce companies. In this article, we would look at the top best ecommerce sites in Singapore 2023, and analyze why they stand out from the crowd.

Top 10 ecommerce sites in Singapore 2023

1. Shopee: the top best ecommerce sites in Singapore

Shopee - best ecommerce sites in Singapore 2023

According to Statista, there are 14,986.7 million web visits in Shopee every month.

The success of Shopee, a well-known ecommerce platform, in Southeast Asia’s ecommerce market is not surprising. Although Shopee entered the ecommerce sector somewhat later than anticipated, it has swiftly caught up and is now the ecommerce unicorn of Asia. 

Needless to say, Shopee’s inventive attitude to adopting technology and their courage to try out innovative tactics contributed to their success. Shopee came to prominence in Singapore because it consistently offered tempting discounts and free delivery for products. Another strategy of this ecommerce website has helped it conquer the market is providing ‘shoppertainment’, engaging customers in mobile games, live streaming, etc. This way has successfully attracted more customers and encouraged them to shop on the website. Furthermore, Shopee has paid close attention to customizing their offering to each nation in Southeast Asia. The way of differentiating the market based on area has helped Shopee reach their potential customers better.

2. Lazada: One of the Singapore's biggest ecommerce sites

Lazada - one of best ecommerce sites in Singapore 2023

As researched by Statista, Lazada receives 7,183.3 million web visits monthly.

Entering Singapore’s ecommerce space in 2011, Lazada’s strategy to lead the market is ‘earlier rather than later’. In particular, the pioneer shared four strategies to grow in the market: building trust, expanding the range, developing a global retail network, and investing in logistics. 

This ecommerce platform based in Singapore carefully considers every part of the online purchasing experience. Every step, from order placement and payment through fulfillment and delivery, is carefully considered and optimized to produce enjoyable customer experiences that will encourage repeat purchase. 

3. Amazon: Western ecommerce website in Singapore

Amazon - Western ecommerce site in Singapore

Amazon remained its third position in the list of most visited ecommerce sites in Singapore, with the monthly web visit being 4,866.7 (Statista).

The success of Singapore Amazon can be attributed to the strategy of supporting local brands. In 2020, the first year of Singapore Amazon’s participation, about 12,000 small companies in Singapore were invited to participate in Prime Day, which is an annual discount event for Amazon Prime subscribers. Despite being a strategic move, the decision was well received by Singaporean customers.

4. Qoo10: one of the top Singapore ecommerce players

Qoo10 - one of the top ecommerce player

Qoo10 has 2,893.3 million monthly traffic (Statista)

Founded in 2010, Qoo10 is one of the oldest ecommerce sites in Singapore. The site offers a wide range of products for customers with lower prices than its rivals, ranging from home appliances to fashion and beauty products. In contrast to businesses that are only using the lion city as a strategic entry point for their Asian expansion, Qoo10’s highly localized offers reflect its extensive experience in the Singapore e-commerce sector. Although the strategy was proved to be successful in its heyday, Qoo10 has failed to maintain its dominance in the market in recent years.

5. Castlery: Singapore’s home furniture online shopping site

Castlery: Singapore’s home furniture online shop

As stated by Statista, Castlery attracts 1,433.3 million web visits per month.

Borned in 2013, Singapore’s online shop for furniture provides a direct-to-consumer approach, which allows the business to offer affordable prices to customers by cutting out all middlemen and markup layers standing between it and the customers.When analyzing this specific situation and considering the e-commerce market as a whole, adopting a D2C model seems to be the way that retail companies will operate in the future.

6. Love, Bonito: online website for fashion shopping

Love, Bonito: online website for fashion shopping

Love, Bonito has monthly web visited of 747.4 million (Statista)

Started as a blog shop in 2010, interestingly, Love, Bonito has grown in the list of the top ten most visited ecommerce websites in Singapore nowadays. Fashionistas can thank Love, Bonito for bringing stylish, on-trend items to their front doors at an affordable price. Its biggest competitor is Zalora, the main fashion ecommerce player in the Asian market. However, Love, Bonito found its own way to cooperate with its rivals. Love, Bonito uses the ecommerce market as one of their selling methods rather than compete with Zalora.

7. Zalora: leading Southeast Asian online fashion retailer

Zalora: leading Southeast Asian online fashion retailer

According to Statista, Zalora’s monthly web visits is 671.4 million.

Founded in 2012, Zalora came in presence in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, etc. More than 3,000 different brands, including Adidas, Birkenstock, Under Armour, VANS, and many more, are represented to purchase on this website. Through their carefully chosen product selections and quick delivery services, Zalora focuses on offering high-end fashion brands to their clients at an affordable price range.

8. COURTS: Electronics and furniture online retailer

COURTS: Electronics and furniture online retailer

Courts receive 647.8 million monthly visits (Statista).

Originated in the UK, COURTS arrived in Singapore in 1974 and has since established a network of more than 10 physical locations across the country. Furthermore, its online store, which debuted in 2017, is currently among the top ten ecommerce sites in Singapore. 

9. Ezbuy: Singapore-based global ecommerce website

Ezbuy: Singapore-based global e-commerce website

Ezbuy gets 598.1 million web visits each month (Statista).

This cross-border shopping platform helps Singaporean consumers to access international brands and sellers from China, Taiwan, Korea, the United States, and many other countries. 

During the Covid-19 pandemic, this platform suffered significant losses as a result of regional lockdowns and supply chain interruptions. Because of these limitations, Ezbuy redirected its attention to onboarding regional digital retailers, tripling the number of regional vendors in just one year. The great flexibility in strategy of the company helped it gain one of the most Singapore ecommerce visited websites.

10. eBay: Online marketplaces for bargain items

eBay: Online marketplace for bargain items

Originating in the US, Ebay gained 316.7 million web visits per month (Statista).

In fact, eBay is a website that supports consumer-to-consumer sales and auctions. Anyone may create a free eBay account and start selling new or used goods. The concept of ‘recommerce’ which describes the sale of used or pre-owned goods on internet marketplaces, is attributed to eBay’s success. This claim is supported by the result of eBay’s Recommerce Report, 34% of eBay customers mention sustainability as a reason for purchasing used goods on the website.

Conclusion

To sum up, Singapore’s ecommerce market has seen significant growth recently. Analyzing the reasons behind the success of Singapore top ecommerce sites help you to draw lessons learned for your own business. An effective ecommerce website offers much more than just a place to make purchases. It’s a location where businesses can design an encounter that strengthens their brand, engage in new clients, and turns casual customers into brand ambasadors.

Learn more about hiring an ecommerce agency to help you build your online store in Singapore here. 

Why is Singapore an attractive destination to start an ecommerce business?

Covid-19 pandemic with the need for social distancing brought about the boom of Singapore’s ecommerce. Despite the re-opening of brick and mortar stores after the pandemic, the consumer behavior of buying online is still continuing. Therefore, if you want to expand your ecommerce business, Singapore is definitely an attractive destination for that. Here are the top reasons why. 

The Singapore’s ecommerce current state

Statistics of Singapore’s ecommerce market

According to Facebook parent company Meta and Bain & Company, e-commerce sales in Singapore are predicted to reach US$14 billion (S$19.6 billion) by 2027. This estimate reflects the continued optimism over South-east Asia’s prospects for long-term growth, which are supported by the region’s steadily increasing digital consumer population. Besides, ecommerce sales in Singapore are anticipated to climb from US$8 billion in 2021 to US$9 billion at the end of 2022. 

Meanwhile, online channels continue to be major platforms for customers in the country, even though offline shopping channels have recovered after Covid 19 pandemic. The survey showed that about 97 percent of Singapore’s population aged 15 and above are digital consumers, ranking the highest rate in South-east Asia. (straitstimes)

These figures indicate that Singapore’s ecommerce market is prospering and expanding swiftly.

Effective payment methods

Card payment methods ranks the list in Singapore

Statistics from GlobalData’s 2021 Financial Services Consumer Survey indicated that payment cards made up 43% of all Singaporean online sales. In addition, alternative digital payment methods including PayPal, Apple Pay, Grab Pay, and Google Pay have also grown in popularity in this nation and now account for about 30.6% of the market share (globaldata). The presence of various payment methods obviously encourages Singaporean’s citizens to make more online purchases.

Significant growth of digital economy

The digital economy of Singapore is projected to increase by 22% at the end of 2022, reaching US$18 billion. This has happened as more companies adopt cutting-edge technology to digitalize processes and stimulate growth. Growth could almost treble to US$30 billion in 2025, according to a report by Google, Temasek, and Bain & Company (CNA). As can be seen, Singapore’s thriving digital economy brings about many opportunities for business.

Advanced technology

In the region, Singaporeans are pioneers in embracing cutting-edge technology. In 2022, more than 4 out of 10 Singaporeans utilized metaverse-related technology, such as cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and nearly the same proportion applied to fintech products, such as digital banking and e-wallets. Furthermore, the innovations of technology in Singapore has helped businesses to improve the quality of ecommerce service and drive more demand of customers for ecommerce service. (straitstimes)

Top reasons to enter Singapore’s ecommerce market

Secure Cyberspace

Needless to say, there are cybersecurity hazards associated with using the internet. Singapore is aware of the importance of providing customers with proper protection. To do this, it has signed a number of trade agreements, including the Singapore-Australia Digital Economy Agreement and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA) with Chile and New Zealand (SADEA). As a result, these protective measures, which are put into practise, boost consumer and company confidence in online transactions. 

Low barriers to entry the market

Starting up a business and penetrating the market in Singapore is simple. There is minimal to no bureaucracy, and the procedure is basic and easy to follow. You can create a seller account on any of the regional marketplaces or launch your own website and start selling. Moreover, Singapore provides a welcoming business environment, low taxes, and good support services, making it simple for companies to establish and run operations.

Additionally, the fact that Singapore has four official languages, two of which are English and Mandarin, makes it possible for foreign ecommerce businesses to engage with local consumers. 

Learn more about import taxt & duty in Singapore here.

Attractive schemes and grants for ecommerce business

The Singapore government has been implementing a number of efforts to encourage small ecommerce firms by providing incentives in the form of subsidies. The government provided incentives to retailers as part of its “E-Commerce Booster Package” for using online channels and selling goods online through participating e-commerce platforms like Lazada, Shopee, and Zalora. Up to 80% of setup and selling costs, up to a maximum of S$8,000 [US$6,052.89], were provided as subsidies to qualified shops. (globaldata).

Convenient infrastructure

Singapore’s infrastructure is well-developed, both in terms of its Internet connection and its ability to handle logistics. In terms of logistic infrastructure, effective local deliveries are made possible by Singapore’s well-developed road network. Therefore, Singaporeans typically anticipate same-day delivery for local goods and next-day delivery if customers pay more. 

Regarding IT infrastructure, Singapore has improved its digital infrastructure further by providing 5G coverage throughout at least half of the country by 2023. It will also construct 2 nationwide 5G networks by 2025. Meanwhile, 90 percent of Singapore’s population are internet users, which is equivalent to 5.29 million Singaporeans are connected to the Internet. On average, a Singaporean spends 8 hours and 7 minutes on the internet each day. Because of their extensive internet usage, reaching them only requires the proper sales channels and marketing techniques.

High-spending power

It’s no surprise that Singaporeans have high purchasing power when it comes to ecommerce. The data showed that the average Singaporean spends about USD785 on buying online, which is greater than the majority of Southeast Asian nations. The statistics indicated the rising importance of Singapore’s ecommerce. 

Popular platforms in Singapore to sell your products

Popular ecommerce platforms in Singapore

Singaporean shoppers use the three major shopping websites Shopee, Lazada, and Amazon to make annual purchases. Besides, social media are also famous channels for ecommerce. On average, Singaporeans spend 2 hours and 31 minutes daily on these social media. These platforms are potential for businesses to start and operate.

Learn more about top best ecommerce sites in Singapore 2023.

How to start your ecommerce business in Singapore

How to start an ecommerce business in Singapore?

Step 1: Research and plan

First, start a research to identify the products you want to sell, your target customers, competitive advantage of your business and demands in the market and competitors. 

Step 2: Funding seeking

You may look for angel investors to support financially for your business. Another idea is to take out a loan from lending institutions. Also, searching for government funding such as Startup SG Tech, Enterprise Development Grant, Startup SG Equity Programme, and Market Readiness Assistance Grant is a good step. 

Step 3: Decide your business model and structure

Step 4: Register legal documents 

First, decide your company’s name, director, and secretary. Second, register your Singapore address. Next, register company constitution, where you would explain your business structure

Step 5: Prepare to sell your products.

Decide where to sell your products. You may choose some popular platforms to start your ecommerce stores such as Shopee, Lazada, Amazon, etc. Other channels you can consider to sell products are social media. 

Besides, if you want to build your own brand, opening a Shopify store is an ideal way. 

Learn more about Shopify in Singapore here.

Conclusion

Singapore is proven to be an ideal place for ecommerce business because of its well-developed infrastructure, protective cyber space, high spending power and friendly business environment. Moreover, its ecommerce market has many potential for rapid growth in the future. Obviously, it’s the perfect time for you to grab the opportunity and start your own ecommerce business in this nation. If you want to hire a professional ecommerce agency to help you build your online store, consider Scuti. 

About Scuti

Established in 2015, Scuti with 7+ years has developed into a dynamic, flexible, and quick-moving business that specializes in delivering web development for the ecommerce industry. We’ve created a global presence and work with clients in many different industry sectors. We place a strong emphasis on scope discovery to accurately identify client goals and objectives. We assist our clients in reducing operational complexity and putting innovative ecommerce solutions for businesses of all sizes, from startups, SMEs to large enterprises. Our main areas of specialty include Shopify, Adobe Commerce (also known as Magento), and ecommerce tools.  

Online shopping trends in Singapore 2023 you should discover to adopt for your business

Singapore’s ecommerce market has seen rapid growth over recent years. This emerging trend gives online retailers a number of opportunities to increase market share and revenue growth. In this article, we will take a look at some online shopping trends in Singapore 2023 and discover how you can apply these to grow in revenue and market share in your own business.

Singapore’s online shopping market overview

Online shopping statistics in Singapore

In July 2022, Singapore’s Internet users was estimated to be approximately 5.18 million, ranking the second highest percentage of Internet penetration in the Southeast Asia region (Statista). Besides, J&T Express reported that 97% of Internet users in Singapore have made at least one purchase. In another article by the Digital 2021: Singapore report, the average Singaporean shopper spends USD785 on online shopping, higher than most Southeast Asian countries. As can be seen, Singaporeans have shown to have a robust appetite when it comes to ecommerce. 

Singapore’s online market revenue

Singapore was once ranked as the second-easiest country in the world to launch an online store by the World Bank. In 2021, ecommerce turnover in Singapore was 6 billion USD. The number is expected to grow to approximately 11 billion U.S. dollars by 2025. (Statista). Without a doubt, any business searching for sales growth in Singapore should recognize ecommerce as an opportunity to thrive in the long run. 

Learn more about the reasons Singapore an attractive destination to start an ecommerce business here. 

Main ecommerce platforms for Singaporean users

Shopee, Lazada, and Amazon are three main shopping websites that are used by Singaporean consumers each year. With about 15 million monthly visitors as of the first quarter of 2022, Shopee was the most popular e-commerce website. Meanwhile, Lazada and Amazon, both based in Singapore, come in second and third, with roughly 7.2 and 4.9 million visits, respectively, behind Shopee. (Statista).

Popular platforms to build online shopping website in Singapore 2023

Platforms to build ecommerce website

As noted, Shopee leads the way when it comes to the most visited shopping website in Singapore. However, these are some other platforms available for making your own business online website.

Shopify: Shopify is an all-in-one ecommerce platform. With this platform, you can easily build your ideal company and begin selling to clients wherever they may be. Shopify had more than 13,320 live stores in Singapore in March 2022. 

BigCommerce: BigCommerce is an ecommerce solution in which company owners can build a store and sell items digitally. In March 2022, there were 129 live Singapore stores on BigCommerce.

WooCommerce: This is a self-hosted eCommerce platform for you to build your website on WordPress. As reported in March 2022, 9,879 live WooCommerce stores were available in Singapore.

Squarespace: Known as the ‘Apple’ of website hosting, Squarespace makes it simple to create an online store with a variety of convenient commerce tools.

Learn more about how to hire dedicated Singapore web developer to build your own ecommerce website here

Online shopping trends in Singapore 2023

Growth in the purchase of local brands

According to a survey by Amazon Singapore, more than half of Singaporeans across all generations would like to shop for local goods over international ones. The survey also indicated that local brands accounted for 48% of Gen X consumers’ recent purchases, closely followed by Millennial (44%) and Gen Z (34%).

Meanwhile, 67% of Gen Z customers said they would prefer to purchase the same product from a vendor who supports the local community over one who does not, as opposed to 55% of Millennial and Gen X customers. 

This poses an opportunity for local brands to increase in market share in the country.

Prevalence of digital payment

Surprisingly, credit cards are still the most popular payment option for online transactions in Singapore, despite the availability of e-wallets and real-time bank payment systems. According to a Rapyd study on payment methods, 34.4% of consumers prefer to use credit cards to make online transactions, as opposed to PayNow, Singapore’s national real-time e-payments system, which only receives 18.2% of the market. Needless to say, the increase in level of efficiency and convenience of online payment results in the absense of cash on payment.

Learn more about how to choose Shopify payment gateway in Singapore here.

Growing emergence of voice search

Voice search grow in online shopping trends

Most modern smartphones come with voice search capabilities, whether they are made by Apple or Samsung. Needless to say, most individuals use this function to do searches for products they want to purchase without typing their own questions. After all, they have to ask the virtual assistants on their smartphones, like Siri or Alexa, to help them find what they’re looking for. 

There is no denying that voice search is revolutionizing online buying, since 77% of consumers prefer it to typing. Therefore, voice search will grow in popularity over the next few years, with a market value of 27.16 billion USD by 2026, as stated in Statista

Development of social media shopping

Ecommerce has developed to accommodate social media channels rather than just relying on websites.

There are 5.3 million social media users in Singapore, which is up 6.9% year on year. They use social media on a daily average of 2 hours and 31 minutes. We Are Social stated that 24.6% of social media users indicate that looking for products to buy is one of the main reasons they use these platforms. Meanwhile, 38% of Internet users visit social networks to learn more about companies and products. 

Each day in Singapore, new users sign up for Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, and other social media platforms. And each new user represents a potential new customer for e-commerce businesses.

Greater application of augmented reality

Augmented reality (AR) is an interaction experience that virtually places virtual objects in the actual world. When using augmented reality (AR), customers are able to view products interactively without having to open them. Without a doubt, AR is the trend that will completely revolutionize the ecommerce sector in Singapore 2023.

Conclusion

As we can see, the continuous growth of Singapore ecommerce will open the door for all businesses to thrive. Therefore, make sure you keep a keen eye on the Singapore online shopping trends in 2023 to make strategic direction for your company. 

Learn more about how to hire an ecommerce agency to build your online store here.

About Scuti

Established in 2015, Scuti with 7+ years has developed into a dynamic, flexible, and quick-moving business that specializes in delivering web development for the ecommerce industry. We’ve created a global presence and work with clients in many different industry sectors. We place a strong emphasis on scope discovery to accurately identify client goals and objectives. We assist our clients in reducing operational complexity and putting innovative ecommerce solutions for businesses of all sizes, from startups, SMEs to large enterprises. Our main areas of specialty include Shopify, Adobe Commerce (also known as Magento), and ecommerce tools