Availability of Unique Items
Young people like to be unique, different from others. They want the newest items faster than anyone else. However, by the time one waits for a particular item to hit Singapore stores, everyone will then have the chance to purchase it, minimizing the uniqueness of the product and the user. How do the young people ensure that they are always ahead of others then? They turn to online shopping.
There are infinite varieties of products available as consumers can access shops all over the world, without any geographical boundary. Consumers can easily buy certain specific or unique products that are unavailable in their home country. An example of such a shop is Cotton Candy Friends. Cotton Candy Friends is a blogshop that sells cute stationary and items that are rarely found in typical Singapore stores.
Discretion of Purchases
Another factor as to why Singaporeans turn to online shopping is because they want to make discreet purchases. Purchasing fetish products such as adult toys and sexy lingerie might cause embarrassment to consumers as there might be people watching them while they are choosing them. As such, online shopping provides an alternative avenue for consumers to shop for products that they do not want others to know about and save them from embarrassment. When consumers shop online, purchases are kept private and the products can be mailed directly to their homes. Such secrecy allows these people to shop at ease and hence, explaining the increase in online shopping.
Medium for Expression
Singaporean adults who set up online fashion shops or shops that carry handmade products belong to the generation where innovation and creativity are taught to be important attributes in school (Jackson, 2011). Yet more often than not, they find that the opportunities to express themselves are inadequate. One such example is Angela Ang, owner of online blogshop, My Glamour Place. Selling self-designed apparel provides her with the platform to express herself (Koh, 2011).
Online retailers enjoy total creative freedom in all aspects, from sales to even advertising. The creative freedom retailers can have in the virtual world of commerce serves as a major incentive for people to get started.
With the rising trend of online shopping gaining momentum in Singapore, there are undoubtedly consequences that come with it. Please click here for the next section, where we will look at such consequences brought about by the rise of online shopping in Singapore.
