Singapore – Despite the ongoing pandemic, small businesses in Singapore are widely supported locally, thanks to a growing number of Singaporeans rallying their support and patronage to their products, a new report from the Singaporean arm of e-commerce giant Amazon and market research firm YouGov shows.
According to the report data, the Gen X demographic, who are born from 1965 to 1980, are the most supportive among the local demographic, tallying around 48% of respondents saying they at least buy once a week from a local business. This was then followed by millennials (44%) and Gen Z’ers (34%).
While majority of all shoppers polled said they will support organizations that have a charitable component, 63% of Gen Z shoppers said that for the same product, they would rather buy from a seller that gives back to the local community, versus one that does not, compared to 55% of both millennial and Gen X shoppers.
In terms of what type of purchases are being made, clothing and accessories topped the type of purchases being made, with 59% of respondents saying so, 64% of that data are Gen Z shoppers. Other categories include health and personal care (47%) and groceries (46%).
Regarding increased purchases made during the pandemic, pet supplies were the top purchases locally, tallying around 85% response rate from respondents. This is followed by beauty and skincare (82%) and books (78%).
With the introduction of social distancing measures and heightened public health alerts, 2 in 5 Gen X shoppers (39%) said the ability to avoid public spaces and stay safe is a key motivator for online shopping.
While 27%of Gen Z shoppers said the availability of international selection is a crucial online shopping motivator, the highest compared to their Millennial and Gen X counterparts.
Lastly, with the majority of Singaporeans identifying as Bargain Hunters (32%) and 41% saying that lower prices are the top motivator for online shopping, it comes as no surprise that 23% of shoppers rely on product comparison sites when making online shopping decisions.
“Customer obsession has always been at the heart of Amazon’s business globally. By keeping our finger on the pulse of changing consumer trends and behavior, we ensure the user experience is optimized for customers’ shopping preferences,” said Henry Low, country manager at Amazon Singapore.
