Amazon stymied by Singaporeans' love for shopping

(Oct 9): As Amazon.com Inc. pushes into Southeast Asia with a new venture into Singapore, the online retailer is facing some tough hurdles. Shopping in air-conditioned malls is practically a national sport, and e-commerce rivals moved in long ago.

Delivery delays also marred Amazon’s debut in July, when on-the-ground operations began with Prime Now two-hour deliveries. Even when including orders placed on its main US website, Amazon lags behind local web store Lazada and its parent, Alibaba Group Holding.

For the island country’s consumers, a store or a shopping centre is usually just minutes away. In fact there are too many stores, with mall operators scaling back operations after years of over-expansion. While retailers blame a weaker economy and increased web shopping, the country of 5.6 million trails most of the developed world when it comes to e-commerce. Just 4.6% of Singapore’s retail sales took place online last year, compared with 15% in the UK and 10% in the US, according to Euromonitor International.

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