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Tag: Sheng Siong

  • Singapore online grocery market to triple by 2020

    Singapore online grocery market to triple by 2020

    The Singapore online grocery market is set to more than triple in size over the next three years, according to research house IGD.

    The global organisation expects sales will rise from the current S$130 million (US$91 million) to S$500 million (US$350 million) by 2020.

    At the end of 2016, IGD valued online grocery to have a 1.2 per cent share of the Singaporean grocery market. Reflecting rapidly changing shopper habits in the region and increased investment in the online channel from retailers and suppliers, IGD is further forecasting online to take a 4 per cent share of Singapore’s grocery market by 2020, with a compound annual growth rate of 39 per cent.

    Revealing the figures at this week’s IGD RedMart Trade Briefing, Nick Miles, IGD’s head of Asia-Pacific, said Singapore is hailing a new era of digital grocery retailing, driven by the entry of RedMart in 2011, Giant and Sheng Siong launching online grocery in 2013 and plenty of smaller start-up businesses also looking to grab a slice of the action.

    “Shopper habits are changing rapidly in Southeast Asia and in a compact city such as Singapore, with its relatively affluent population, big expat community and high penetration of internet and smartphone usage, there are huge opportunities for online grocery to meet these evolving needs. To make the most of this opportunity, retailers and suppliers must work together to ensure they really understand online shoppers and can tailor experiences and products to suit their personal preferences.”

    Miles says retailers are already clearly looking to improve the overall online experience, by getting the basics of search functions, favourites, images and information right for shoppers.

    “At the same time, they’ll be aiming to make delivery options as convenient as possible, whether that’s through shorter timespan delivery slots or greater choice of click and collect points throughout the region. Our UK data shows that 80 per cent of shoppers cite convenience as their number-one reason for shopping online, and we would anticipate Singaporean shoppers to have a very similar mindset when heading online for their groceries.

    “We also expect online grocery retailers in the region to encourage shopper loyalty through personalised offers and products, plus subscription models and delivery saver passes,” said Miles.

    “On top of that, shoppers in the region are increasingly connected via mobile, so ensuring a seamless shopping experience no matter what device they are using will be critical. Coupled with an increased focus on using innovations such as voice-activated technology, virtual reality and robotics, we predict huge opportunities for those retailers and suppliers who really invest in making the online grocery channel work for them in Singapore.”

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  • Sheng Siong’s net profit expands 8.2% to $15.7m in Q3

    Sheng Siong’s net profit expands 8.2% to $15.7m in Q3

    Even with the sluggish retail sales numbers published by the Department of Statistics, Singapore’s supermarket giant Sheng Siong reported a considerable improvement in earnings for 3Q16.

    According to the group’s announcement, its net earnings jumped $15.6m, from $14.5m recorded last year.

    This came after its headline increased marginally by 1.2% to $202m mainly driven by new stores.

    “But (this) was offset by the temporary closure of the Loyang Point store and a contraction in comparable same store sales of 1.15% caused mainly by poor festive sales during the Chinese Seventh month and sluggish sales in September,” Sheng Siong noted.

    Excluding the closure of the said store, revenue would have grown by 4.2%.

    Looking forward, the group expects the supermarket industry to remain competitive, as consumers continue to be even more cost conscious.

    “The Group is still looking for suitable retail space particularly in areas where the Group does not have a presence. However, competition for retail space, particularly for new HDB shops is expected to remain keen, which have escalated bidding prices,” the group said.

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  • Singapore supermarket lost $120000 on trolleys

    Singapore supermarket lost $120000 on trolleys

    The third largest chain of supermarkets in Singapore Sheng Siong loses 90 metal trolleys and 180 plastic ones over its outlets each month.  That interprets into a stunning $120,000 loss on just trolleys. Furthermore, this supermarket chain is not the only one. In the previous two years, NTUC FairPrice lost around 1,000 trolleys every year over more than 90 stores they operate in.

    The grocery store chain said it spends around $150,000 every year on repairing, supplanting and recovering abandoned trolleys. Sheng Siong said a few clients do return the trolleys, however not promptly, after use.  Be that as it may, in 2012, NTUC FairPrice lost just around 800 trolleys crosswise over more than 80 stores, proposing an ascent in the quantity of unreturned trolleys when contrasted to 2014 and 2015.

    For the supermarkets, store workers recover the trolleys from adjacent housing estates, asphalts and taxi stands now and then. Clients are required to store a one-dollar coin into the metal trolley when they acquire one from Sheng Siong general store, yet plastic ones don’t require any store. Similarly, NTUC FairPrice grocery stores’ trolleys require a deposite of either a one-dollar coin from the old coin series or a 50-penny coin from the new coin series. In spite of the series of un returned trolleys, Sheng Siong has not yet made any police reports in this regard.

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  • HonestBee triggers Singapore food fight

    HonestBee triggers Singapore food fight

    A new player in Singapore’s online grocery market – honestbee – is set to bring a unique approach and ramp up the competition.

    Jonathan Low, co-founder of the new concept, describes honestbee as “an Instacart-like service which assigns a freelance runner to buy groceries on your behalf from the nearest supermarket”.

    Honestbee is the latest entrant in Singapore’s online grocery battle, and it’s eager to prove it can deliver the goods. Casual observers probably won’t spot many differences between the service and its competitors, which now include RedMart, PurelyFresh, and GoFresh. Even supermarkets like Cold Storage are upping the ante with a revamped online shopping site.

    Indeed, they all seem to work the same way. After entering your postal code, the site tells you what merchants are available in the area. You then select one of its partners – from supermarkets like Cold Storage and Sheng Siong to smaller setups like Pet Lovers Centre and Gastronomia.

    Next comes putting items in your shopping cart, picking a time slot, and checking out. The service waives delivery fees for basket sizes above a certain amount. And, if all goes well – and it usually does – the delivery guy rings your doorbell at the appointed time.

    So far so good. But where honestbee really shines is its promise of delivering groceries to you within an hour, writes Terence Lee on TechInAsia.com.

    “Well, more like two hours, as the case was for me. I made my purchase at 11.30am, and the earliest time slot I could choose was 1pm to 2pm. One-hour ranges are the best anyone can do in Singapore now, though honestbee wants to eventually introduce 30-minute slots.”

    The startup is part of a rising class of “on-demand” services that aims to give you what you want, as soon as you want it. Uber pioneered the idea of using existing resources (idle private vehicles) and summoning them to anyone through an app. Instacart takes the same concept to groceries, and honestbee applies the same model to Singapore.

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