Trust a savvy Singaporean shopper to sniff out a good bargain —
even if it’s online.
In what seems to be a perfect example of true Singaporean
bargain-hunting spirit, an increasing number of people are jumping
on the online shopping bandwagon to take advantage of the
strengthening Singapore dollar.
Online shopping concierges and internet payment
providers report an increase in buying activity from
Singapore.
A spokesman from online payment provider
PayPal told Yahoo! Singapore that it saw an 11 per cent
increase in transactions to the UK in May, and a 13 per cent
increase in transactions to the US in July.
“The increases in PayPal online shopping transactions in
Singapore correspond very closely to the appreciation of the
Singapore currency against both the British pound (GPB) and the US
dollar,” said the spokesman.
Online concierge services, which help with payments to overseas
retailers who do not accept credit cards issued here, and ship the
purchases to Singapore, also said business has increased this
year.
At
Citi Globeshopper, an online shopping portal for Citibank
clients, the number of shipments from the US and UK have increased
by some 20 per cent from January to September, as compared to the
same period last year, said Mr Vikas Kumar, head of portfolio
management and sales at
Citibank Singapore.
At
HopShopGo, an online shopping site that
allows Singaporeans to buy from US online retailers and
launched by comGateway and PayPay, top US merchants include
Ralph Lauren,
Kate Spade,
Drugstore.com and
Walmart.
SingPost also reported a ”double-digit increase
in our shipping volume year-on-year for both vPOSTUSA and
vPOSTEurope”.
“Several factors have contributed to this, including
strengthening of Singapore dollar and greater awareness of
vPOST’s online shopping and shipping service,” said
a spokeswoman for the local postal service.
“Shipments from Japan remain relatively flat as the yen
strengthened,” she added, perhaps one telling sign of the role a
more favourable exchange rate played in increasing consumers’
online shopping activities.
The latest Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)
exchange rate show the Singapore dollar has gradually
strengthened throughout this year.
At the start of the year in January, one British pound was
going for S$2.26. That fell to S$2.02 in May, and is at S$2.04
for the week ending on October 22, according to
latest available exchange rates from MAS.
It is a similar tale for the US dollar. In July, one
greenback was going for S$1.40 before dropping even further to
S$1.29 last month. In the latest MAS figures, it’s now S$1.30.
Forex dealer at
Philip Futures, Samuel Tay, highlighted the US dollar
being at a historical low against the Singapore dollar.
“Compared to last year, the Singapore dollar has risen more than
10 per cent against the US dollar,” he said.
Economist at
DBS Group in Singapore, Irvin Seah, forecasted that by the
end of next year, it will take only S$1.22 to buy one US
dollar.
United Overseas Bank’s analysts forecast that the Singapore
will reach S$1.27 by year-end against the US currency, and
strengthen further to S$1.23 by the end of 2011.
Industry players expect the online shopping trend to
continue.
“We definitely see the stronger Singapore dollar accelerating
this online shopping trend, especially for purchases from the US
which is the no. 1 online shopping destination for Singaporeans,”
said the PayPal spokesman.
He pointed out, six out of every 10 purchases by Singaporeans
through PayPal is for an item from a US retailer.
Citibank’s Mr Kumar added, “Due to the upcoming festive shopping
season, we expect that the number of shipments will increase over
the next few months.”
Undergraduate Clarissa Low, 22, who never shopped online
previously, is a recent convert because she wanted to take
advantage of the good Sing dollar exchange rate.
“It is much cheaper to buy clothes from abroad now, and it is so
much more value for money,” she said. Ms Low now buys from US and
UK sites at least once a month.
However, manager Kathryn Ng, 33, said time constraints make it
hard to shop online more and take advantage of the possible
“savings”.
Source:
http://sg.yfittopostblog.com/2010/10/29/savvy-online-shoppers-take-advantage-of-strong-sing-dollar/