Amazon Prime Is Now Available In Singapore But Is It Worth It?
Amazon has arguably transformed online retail over the pastdecade or so as the leading global online retail platform. Services such asAmazon Prime allow users to take full advantage of the value that the companyhas to offer, but the problem is that not everyone can access those services.For example, Singapore residents have had quite an underwhelming experience ofAmazon. For this reason, there was a lot of excitement when it was reportedthat Amazon would introduce Amazon Prime Now in Singapore.
Even after its launch, it seems that Singapore residents arestill not pleased with Amazon Prime Now. This mostly has to do with the factthat the Amazon Prime offering in Singapore is not as appealing as the Primeservices offered in the U.S. For example, the Amazon Prime Now service inSingapore does not have the free shipping GlobalSaver option which is availablefor U.S counterparts. The removal of that option forces Singapore users tosecure free shipping by signing up to the company’s loyalty program.
Amazon’s strategy inSingapore seems to be different from that of The U.S
The regular Amazon Prime service available in the U.Sfeatures a variety of offerings including rapid and same-day delivery, freeshipping and also the Prime Video. The latter is a significant contentstreaming service which competes with big players such as Netflix. The AmazonPrime service also features other types of services such as Prime Reading,Prime Music, and Prime gamers among others. The subscription has changed overthe years, and it currently stands at $119 annually following an increment inApril 2018.
Singapore’s Amazon Prime Now service is less comprehensivethan the U.S version. One of the key features is a 2-hour delivery period whereproducts are delivered to the user’s selected location. Below is a chartdemonstrating what the Singapore version of the service has to offer as of2018.
As noted earlier, Amazon’s Prime Program in Singaporerequires members to have a loyalty program that is unique to the country. Itwas initially launched with a 30-day free trial where users may opt to canceltheir subscription upon expiry or to continue using the service but at a fee.Those who choose to keep using the platform will enjoy a promotional periodduring which they will get to pay just $2.99 per month. However, the monthlysubscription fee will jump to $8.99 per month after the promotional periodends.
The monthly fee will facilitate free shipping on Amazon U.Sand Amazon Singapore purchases. However, there is also a caveat where the userhas to spend a certain minimum amount on Amazon purchases each month. Thisapplies for the Amazon Prime service in the two countries although the minimumspend is different for each country.
Singapore Amazon Prime members have to spend a minimum of S$60to enjoy free shipping from the U.S. This is less than half the minimum spendrequirement for users in the past before the global online retailer scrappedits GlobalSaver option. The good thing is that the membership subscriptionallows shoppers to spend less to ship the items they purchase from Amazon sincethey can leverage the free shipping option.
Unfortunately, there is also a downside to the Amazon PrimeNow service in Singapore. It requires users to purchase products from the PrimeNow app which does not feature everything available on Amazon US. The Prime Nowservice offers a limited range of local products that include toys,electronics, and groceries among others. The two-hour shipping period is alsofree for any orders above $40, but this is exclusively for Prime members. Belowis a list of the pros and cons of Singapore’s Amazon Prime service.
Pros
The Amazon Prime Pro membership facilitates a2-hour delivery which might be quite convenient for shoppers.
Subscribers get to enjoy other services that areunder the Prime banner including the streaming service.
Free shipping
Easy access to online products especially fromthe U.S.
Singapore customers still get to enjoy AmazonPrime day discounts but only if they are registered Prime members.
Cons
Singapore users are forced to get a primemembership if they want to enjoy free deliveries ever since free shipping wasremoved from the GlobalSaver option.
The membership subscription fee might seemsteeply-priced to many.
The Amazon Prime Now service in Singapore is abit underwhelming compared to some of the other similar services in the countrysuch as Lazada which is expanding to other countries in South East Asia.
The Amazon Now app separates the Amazon U.S offeringto what Amazon Singapore has to offer, thus making it hard for customers todetermine the best product through comparison shopping.
Is Amazon Primeappealing to the Singapore market?
That is a tricky one considering that the service hassignificant benefits, but people in the country feel that it is underwhelming comparedto what their counterparts in countries such as the U.S receive. Some feel thatthe service is just not good enough. However, it depends on the shoppingexperience that the company offers to customers.
Other similar services in Singapore also seems to beoffering competitive services that have also gained a lot of traction in themarket. This means it will be even more difficult for Amazon to gain tractionin Singapore’s online retail space. The retail giant could still make headwayby incorporating a mix of competitive pricing, attractive product range, andexcellent customer experience. Amazon has lacked in those three areas, and thatis why Singapore users have not found it as appealing as they thought it wouldbe.
The Amazon Prime service may not have taken off as much asthe company might have liked in Singapore, but that is normal. After all, itcannot be for everyone, but there are those that will still enjoy the service.Amazon already has millions of customers subscribed to the Prime service notonly in major markets including the U.S and the UK. The company has also beenexpanding its business in other regions.
(By Neha Gupta)
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