It’s no surprise that most Singaporeans we know are shopping
online. As it turns out, Singapore shoppers are a savvy bunch when
it comes to searching for the best deals online, based on this
recent MasterCard survey, which polled 500 Singaporeans were polled
on their online shopping behaviour. Are you as guilty of these
habits too?
1. You do a lot of research online, before you buy
Yep, you're a smart shopper and you're not the only
one either. Nearly half of those surveyed will do price comparisons
on their phones across the different stores before they click on
the 'checkout' button. The even savvier shopaholics will also do
the same for items they buy at the brick and mortar stores; nearly
32 per cent of Singapore shoppers will
look up the prices online while at the store before heading to the
cashier.
2. You often shop at the same few e-stores
If you find yourself returning to the same few online stores,
you're certainly not alone. And all that time spent browsing and
wishlist-ing items online (basically the online version of “window
shopping”) can hurt your wallet more than you think.
76 per cent of Singaporeans surveyed do return to shop on the same
few websites, as long as they have either browsed or purchased from
the e-store previously. The winning combination that makes shoppers
return to certain e-stores: low shipping cost, website reputation
and the website's ease of use.
3. You're doing a little more online shopping on your mobile
phone
While the vast majority (63 per cent) prefer to shop via their
desktop computers or tablets, a growing number of Singaporeans (37
per cent) are now making their online purchases on their
smartphones, compared to just 31 per cent the year before. The top
reasons for this preference? So that they can shop while they're on
the go; the convenience helps too.
4. You're generally unaffected by bad online
reviews
It seems like positive word of mouth among friends and colleagues
may still triumph in this case, for only 22.5 per cent of those
surveyed are affected by bad reviews of stores and restaurants. The
other 77.5 per cent of shoppers polled will still give these poorly
reviewed spots a shot.
5. You
might just be a bit addicted to online
shopping
1 in 2 Singaporeans polled say that e-stores has become an
“essential” part of their shopping habit. 32 per cent surveyed are
so comfortable with online shopping that it's becoming the same as
shopping at physical stores; they've been so habitualised to online
shopping that they hardly miss out being able to physically touch
and feel the clothes.
Again, all that online browsing does eventually lead to you adding
more to your shopping cart. Within the last three months, 9 in 10
Singaporeans have made at least one online purchase each. Maybe
it’s high time for you to cut back on the time spent looking
through e-stores!