Singapore malls try big gambit before online shopping catches on

(Nov 24): Online shopping in Singapore is lacklustre even after Amazon Inc debuted its Prime service in mid-2017. The island’s malls are trying hard to keep it that way.

With some of the nation’s biggest mall operators reporting falling rents and rising vacancies, landlords, just like those elsewhere in Asia and the US, are being forced to reposition. They’re making room for yoga studios, boxing gyms and climbing walls -- plus expanding their food and beverage options -- to make sure people come for the dining and fun, and hopefully, stay for some shopping.

Centres around the world have tried similar stunts in recent years -- often to no avail -- but in tiny Singapore, where it’s often joked that shopping is the national sport, they do have an advantage. Online shopping penetration ranks behind Slovakia and Greece in the city-state, putting it relatively low down for developed economies, and the government is weighing a tax on e-commerce imports from 2020.

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