Christmas shoppers prefer cross-channel

Online Christmas shoppers in Singapore prefer cross-channel options, according to an SAP Hybris Singapore survey covering more than 1000 consumers.

This demand was ranked more important than such services as digital wallets and augmented-reality store experiences.

Most Singaporeans interviewed for the survey (68 per cent) prefer retailers with a physical store coupled with both eCommerce and mobile app, as well as those which offer self-pickup services at physical store (54 per cent).

Also, 65 per cent of respondents say retailers can improve their Christmas shopping experience by offering free shipping, while 48 per cent believe on-time delivery is a benefit, and 41 per cent see gift customisation as another improvement.

In fact, the survey shows that 69 per cent of Christmas shoppers will try to personalise gifts for at least their close friends and family.

“This means it is critical for retailers and marketers to be thinking of contextual marketing to understand what they are looking for and make the gift-hunting experience easier,” says SAP Hybris global VP for fast-growth markets Nicholas Kontopoulos. “Retailers have the opportunity to thrive across many touch points with well-executed hybrid experiences that drive engagement and sales to get Singaporeans spending beyond Christmas.”

“Not dead”

Kontopoulos says that while Singaporeans are among the most tech-savvy spenders in Asia, brick-and-mortar stores are definitely not dead. The survey found that 39 per cent of respondents enjoy browsing through stores.

“This reinforces what we have been telling retailers for some time: Singapore is a truly multi-channel market, where most consumers are using a combination of devices in their online and offline shopping. The findings also point us to a future where offline and online shopping are no longer two separate business models.”

Singapore’s eCommerce market is expected to be worth US$5.4 billion by 2025, according to a report by Temasek and Google released in May, and is expected to make up 6.7 per cent of all retail sales by 2025.

Launched in January following enterprise software company SAP’s acquisition of Hybris, the SAP Hybris brand provides omnichannel customer-engagement and commerce software.

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