Cheap air travel is the underestimated culprit behind Singapore’s retail woes

Nearby cities are snatching shoppers’ cash.

If local retailers are looking for something to blame for their persistently poor sales, then they should direct their part of their ire at the proliferation low-cost flights to nearby shopping havens like Bangkok and Hong Kong.

A report by Savills highlighted that budget carriers’ meteoric rise to popularity is one unheralded culprit behind Singapore’s flagging retail sales.

“The ballooning of budget air travel has brought regional cities to within easy reach. In turn, they have become competitors to shops here that sell comparison goods such as fashion, shoes and jewellery,” Savills said.

Tourists are not the only ones being lured away by regional cities, Savills added. Locals are also turning to nearby hubs to purchase high-value items.

Budget carriers are only one part of the problem, though, because online retailers are also snuffing the life out of physical malls.

“Online shopping has added a further dimension to the challenges faced by retailers selling such goods. The span of online retailing is global as delivery time has now been largely shortened by effective supply chain management systems and product try-outs can be carried out at small domestic shoplets,” Savills noted.

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