SG More Cashless After COVID-19
- By CDOTrends editors
- June 22, 2020
It’s decided: cashless is the new normal for Singaporean consumers.
According to a recent Visa study, 66% of Singaporeans are forming cashless habits. They are paying with cards or through mobile applications more than with cash. And the newfound habit is not going to change as circuit breakers end, say 78% of those surveyed.
The Singapore results are in line with Asia Pacific respondents (61%) and global participants (59%).
“In this new normal, we’re seeing a shift — Singaporeans are becoming more digital, and the COVID-19 situation has forced consumers to adopt this change in behavior,” said Kunal Chatterjee, Visa country manager for Singapore & Brunei.
For many Singaporean, the lockdown saw them give e-commerce a try for the first time. The survey highlighted that 40% will increase their online shopping, which is higher than the global average of 32%.
Kumar observed that many started their online journey by shopping essential goods and services such as groceries, pharmaceutical goods and making bill payments for their telecommunication services. “They are also making purchases for retail goods at online department stores, and discount stores. Moreover, we are seeing that eCommerce growth is 10 times faster than face-to-face,” added Chatterjee.
Singapore consumers seem to like their online experience. Thirty-seven percent said so in the survey, which is similar to the global response of 35%.
As expected, COVID-19 has made Singapore consumers more cost-conscious. Sixty-five percent of Singaporeans said they are paying more attention to prices nowadays and 51% are actively hunting for sale products. These percentages are slightly higher than the Asia Pacific and global averages.
Kunal sees an opportunity for companies like Visa to optimize the online experience for these shifts in behaviors.
“Given consumers’ shift in preferences to start purchasing goods and services online, it is critical for Visa to work with merchants to enhance the online shopping experiences for consumers to ensure it is seamless, secure and convenient,” said Kunal.
Photo credit: iStockphoto/Fertographer