MSME share in Singapore e-commerce exports set to decline despite growth by 2028

Its share of revenues is expected to decline to 43% from 45%.

Singapore's B2C e-commerce exports are on the rise, though MSMEs’ share of this growth may slipee a slight decrease by 2028, Amazon Global Selling said.

In its Transforming Trade: The E-commerce Revolution in Asean report, Amazon said that B2C e-commerce export revenues are projected to rise 46% to US$1.9b by 2028 from US$1.3b in 2023.

However, MSMEs' share is expected to slightly decline to 43% from 45%, citing the capabilities, cost, regulatory, and knowledge barriers.

In particular, 68% of MSMEs reported difficulties in negotiating favorable terms with manufacturing partners, whilst 64% faced challenges in ensuring these partners meet international quality standards.

For cost barriers, 76% of MSMEs agreed that high costs of cross-border logistics, such as customs and compliance costs and middle mile logistics costs, hinder cross-border e-commerce engagement.

Meanwhile, 74% of MSMEs reported a lack of knowledge of relevant e-commerce export regulations, including tax regimes in export markets (61%) and domestic export regulations (53%).

Most MSMEs also noted a lack of understanding of foreign markets and expressed a desire to better understand demand fluctuations and seasonal trends abroad (51%), as well as the localisation of marketing content and messaging for foreign audiences (49%).

Additionally, seven in ten MSMEs face challenges due to a lack of knowledge about logistics providers and their solutions.

To address this, MSMEs are inclined to develop a formal curriculum on cross-border e-commerce (74%), manage unexpected expenses (55%), and navigate shipping regulations (49%).

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