Top Online Shopping Apps in Singapore
Online Shopping Apps
As the internet has become a widely used platform, online shopping apps have also gained attention and adoption in the technologically advanced generation. Online shopping apps offer themselves as a platform with all the benefits of buying or selling products or services over the Internet. The basic procedure of online shopping includes going online, visiting a seller’s landing page or website, selecting something, purchasing, and arranging for its delivery. The buyer either pays for the good or service online with a credit or debit card or cash upon delivery. Everyone loves shopping online. Because you get to find and buy things without ever needing to leave the comfort of your house; how convenient is that! In this article, you will find out more information about the function of top online shopping apps in Singapore.
How Online Shopping Apps Work
For buyers, the basic purchase journey is just as simple as you think: you will need an Internet connection, a debit, or a credit card. In the app, you need a secure password, house address, email address, and mobile phone number to access the purchase of goods.
For sellers, the basic selling journey will require them to get a licensed online store with ready-to-sell goods and a mailing the third party to deliver the goods to buyers. Moreover, they need packaging items to package the products properly; preventing possible damage during delivery.
Characteristics of Top Online Shopping AppsÂ
Top online shopping apps are known and reputable for their functions, services, punctuality of delivery. The app shopping experience is important and dependent on the design of the app itself. In another word, consumers are also heavily attracted to the app with good visuals, gamification efforts, and interaction with influencers in collaboration with the brand. Here are some of the best online shopping apps in Singapore:
Amazon
Everybody has heard of Amazon as an e-commerce website; but if you’re not aware, they also have a mobile app! It is not only the biggest e-commerce platform in the foreign industry, but it is also one of the most efficient channels for delivery, payment, and accessibility to products. It has everything you need such as books, accessories, clothes, shoes, cosmetic products, appliances from local and international sellers.
Shoppers generally love Amazon because it’s very user-oriented and has everything you need. Moreover, they have excellent customer support, quick refund and return policies, free shipping on certain products, and responsible service. An interesting fact: even the logo signifies they have everything from the letter A to Z.
ShopeeÂ
Shopee is the top online shopping platform in Southeast Asia and Singapore. The online shopping app offers convenient and excellent services to consumers. With strong marketing and logistical support, Shopee provides all users with an easy, secure, and quick online shopping experience.
Lazada
A pioneer in the online shopping field, Lazada is considered Southeast Asia’s number one online shopping destination. In Singapore, they offer a huge array of products, including men’s and women’s fashion, electronics, cosmetic products, groceries, as well as home and living appliances (ie. furniture). This means that the price range will be small to large for consumers. The brand also provides retailers with access to more than 550 million consumers in six countries through one channel.
Qoo10Â
Qoo10 is one of the popular online shopping arenas in Singapore. Its online shopping app is the go-to site for just about anything, from sunglasses to shoes, makeup items to mobile phones, kitchen devices to medical devices. With approximately a few million registered users, Qoo10 has garnered much revenue support in Singapore’s market. It is currently operating in other countries (Japan, Malaysia, etc) as well.
Finding A Good S@hopping Online App
Finding a good online shopping app is easy, as long as it is capable of meeting your different needs (affordability, accessibility, trustability). In today’s society, experiential shopping is a very important thing to take note of!
If you are looking for the best online shopping app, you should ask yourself – which app will serve your needs in the best way you could ever receive? To provide further help, we have provided a comprehensive list of online shopping apps in the table below for you to compare their different offerings.
Top Shopping Online App |
Shopee |
| Speciality |
Shopee is also known as a social-first, mobile-centric marketplace where users can browse, shop, and sell. Integrated with logistical and payment support, the asset-light platform claims to make online shopping easy and secure for both sellers and buyers.
|
| Pricing | Click here to enquire |
| Website | https://shopee.sg/ |
| Operating hours | Mon-Sat: 930am – 700pm |
| Contact number | 6206 6610 |
| Address | 5 Science Park Dr, Shopee Building, Singapore 118265 |
Top Shopping Online App |
Amazon |
| Speciality | Amazon is giving online shoppers in Singapore access to a wider selection of offerings, with the launch of Amazon.sg. The local online marketplace stocks a huge range of international goods and has products from local small and medium-sized businesses. |
| Pricing | Click here to enquire |
| Website | https://www.amazon.sg/ |
| Operating hours | 24/7 daily |
| Contact number | 1-888-280-4331 |
| Address | 5B Toh Guan Rd E, Singapore 608829 |
Top Shopping Online App |
Qoo10 |
| Speciality | Qoo10 is Singapore’s leading online marketplace to shop your every wants, every need, every day. The online shopping brand has helped Singapore’s consumers shop smarter with its newest products and bestselling items from Singapore, Japan, Korea, the US, and other countries at a highly discounted price. |
| Pricing | Click here to enquire |
| Website | https://www.qoo10.sg/ |
| Operating hours | 24/7 daily |
| Contact number | 6500 4440 |
| Address | 5 Tampines Central 1, Singapore 529541 |
Top Shopping Online App |
Lazada |
| Speciality | Lazada is a Singaporean multinational technology company that focuses mainly on providing good and quick servicing in warehouses and delivery processes. Consumers can buy and receive products ranging from earrings to furniture on Lazada. |
| Pricing | Click here to enquire |
| Website | https://www.lazada.sg/ |
| Operating hours | Mon-Sat: 800am – 800pm |
| Contact number | 65 3157 1774 |
| Address | 8 Shenton Way, AXA Tower, Singapore 068811 |
Top Shopping Online App |
Zalora |
| Speciality | Zalora is a fashion app selling a wide range of products from the most coveted international and local brands, with items such as accessories, shoes, clothing, watches, bags, socks, cosmetic products (anything to do with fashion). |
| Pricing | Click here to enquire |
| Website | https://www.zalora.sg/ |
| Operating hours | Mon-Sat: 900am – 600pm |
| Contact number | customer@my.zalora.com |
| Address | 51 Bras Basah Road #07-01/04, 5One Central, 189554 |
Top Shopping Online App |
Ezbuy |
| Speciality |
As of today, Ezbuy has brought millions of quality products from China, the USA, Taiwan, Korea, and Local for local customers. They strive to aim for service excellence while providing new services that better suit all customers –Â ezbuy/Prime service to expand their marketplace from China to the USA, Taiwan, Korea, and Local.
|
| Pricing | Click here to enquire |
| Website | https://ezbuy.sg/ |
| Operating hours | Mon-Sat: 1000am – 600pm |
| Contact number | 6567 8880 |
| Address | 51 Tai Seng Avenue #05-02 Pixel Red, Lobby, C, 533941 |
7 Ground Rules for Creating Online Shopping Apps
Having an online shopping app that clients can purchase your products from is a sure way of scaling up your business. Consider the following seven ground rules to create a user-friendly and intuitive online shopping app.
Take a Futurist Approach
Today, a significant amount of internet traffic is from mobile apps, thanks to consumers’ high dependence on mobile devices for almost everyday activities. As a result, mobile commerce has been steadily gaining traction and will soon surpassing the conventional online shopping methods.Â
As you embark on creating an online shopping app, it’s recommendable to have a futurist approach to M-commerce. Be alive to the different market changes and latest technologies in the facet of the mobile device.
Like how websites are designed to become responsive, your mobile app should be compatible with the new generation smartphones and their user interface design. Ideally,
your app should be fully compatible with:
- Dark mode user interfaceÂ
- New generation foldable smartphones
- Buttonless UI
- Notch display design (wide notch and water-drop)
Making sure that your app has the best user interface and UX design can be the primary factor that sets you apart from the crowd and enables you to gain the target customers’ trust. The app should also work seamlessly regardless of the mobile screen size and align with the most recent UI design technology.
Market Research & Ideation
One of the common mistakes we see new companies and stakeholders make is not brainstorming on the ideas of an online shopping app for their websites. They spend thousands of dollars creating an app without any USP, which often plunges businesses into financial turmoil.
Before creating an online shopping app, it’s imperative to conduct extensive market research to lay out the project requirements and research the competition. The research will also help identify the target audience thereby preventing a scenario where the app does not resonate with the customer base.
Below are some tips on identifying the right target audience or clientele.
- Find out the region and country for targeting
- Pinpoint which users match your business model
- The app should resonate with the right customer age group
- Do competitor analysis to know their strategies and audience
- Target audience largely depends on the services rendered and the nature of your business
Note there are two categories of audience, namely informative and commercial. The informative audience sole reason for using the app is to gather information, while the commercial audience goal is to buy your product. Knowing the difference between the two will help you select the right design and features to include in the app.
Ideation is another key aspect that every app owner should keep in mind at every stage. Optimise the app to place it ahead of the curve. Your dream app should be able to amicably solve customer issues and offer something new to the market.
The app stores are bloated with a multitude of similar apps in terms of UI and functionality. You need to provide a new improved mobile shopping experience, better UI and USP to get a higher cutting edge in the cut-throat competitive market.
Understand and Embrace the Modern Mobile App UI Design Trends
As mentioned earlier, your online shopping app should be compatible with the latest technology and should be developed, bearing in mind where the market is headed. Embracing the latest app design trends that are working well for other brands will help you get the expected results.Â
Scour the web and consult widely to find new technologies and ways of making your online shopping app different from the rest.
Here are some UI design trends you cannot afford to ignore.
- Chatbots
- AR technology
- Video + motion UI
- Animation graphics
- Buttonless UI
- VR technology
VR and AR technologies have gained massive traction in the mobile app development space for the last three years. In particular, Augmented Reality (AR) is widely used to enhance user experience in online shopping apps as it has redefined how brands display products and information to customers.
The most popular online shopping brands use AR in their mobile apps to enhance user experience.
Some of the brand apps to check out for inspiration are:
- Target App
- Amazon App
- Ikea Place
- Warby Parker
- Zeek
Take customer engagement to the next level by including chatbot and virtual assistant.
Here are the reasons you should include a chatbot in your online shopping app.
- Provide fast and relevant responses to queries
- Improves user engagement
- Enhance navigationÂ
- Engage and draw in new customers with instant replies
A chatbot is an ideal replacement for a live chat as it can engage with multiple customers concurrently. Some of the brands whose apps have a chatbot are Mastercard, Starbucks, Pizza Huts, and Spotify.Â
Another UI design to watch out for when creating an online shopping app today is the buttonless UI. Use it to enhance your mobile app plus other unique elements such as animation graphics, motion graphics, videos, and motion UI.Â
Dark Mode & Colour Coding
Since 2019, the dark mode UI has continued to wow us when used correctly in mobile shopping apps. This UI, coupled with the ideal colour pallet, will make your mobile app more functional and appealing to the target customers.Â
Choosing the right colour for a mobile app is usually a daunting task to most people.
Here are tips to help you make the right decision.
- White space can enhance UI and engage users
- If you are in the food industry, consider using red, yellow, and orange colours
- Every business has its colour, don’t be a copy-cat, choose yours
- Make sure the landing pages and checkout pages are engaging
User-Friendly & Intuitive Checkout Design
One of the main reasons most online shopping apps flop is that the checkout is poorly designed. The customers should be able to checkout within the shortest time possible. Don’t make it complicated by requesting for unnecessary personal details.Â
Concisely, the checkout should be intuitive, user-friendly and concise. Put yourself in the shoes of the shopper when designing this section of the app. If it’s complicated, the bounce rate will skyrocket, and you will end up losing thousands of dollars in revenue to competitors whose app has better checkout.Â
Elevate the trust factor by making sure that all payment methods are secure. In addition, payments should be processed in real-time, and a receipt and confirmation alert generated instantly.Â
An online shopper uses the checkout process to determine the credibility of a brand and the stability of the mobile app. Nobody wants to get hacked when trying to purchase a product online via a mobile app. Therefore, the checkout design should have some credentials such as positive feedback and customer reviews to gain the trust of your customers.Â
Here are some suggestions to win customers’ confidence when they land on the checkout page.
- Your details are safe with us. Checkout now via our encrypted payment process
- Replace “Free Shipping” with “We’ll pay your shipping.”
- Replace “Easy Return” with “Free Exchange, so you always have your preferred colour and size!”
Of course, experiment with these lines to find one that results in the highest sales and positive responses.
Hire Professional Mobile App Dev Company
Special skills and expertise are required to create a killer online shopping app. Even though some online platforms claim to help people with little app development skills to create apps on the fly, we recommend steering clear of them and delegating the task to a team of professionals.
A professional mobile app development company has everything required to get the job done within the agreed timeframe. Note that they have been in the industry for a while and has seen how the market trends have transitioned. And so, they are in a better position to advise you on what exactly you should do to get your dream shopping app.
Here are a few points for hiring the best mobile app development company today.
- Research the process, cost and technology they use
- Identify the project requirements and needs.
- List all the companies, then weed them out based on their capability and suitability.
- Agree on the features, development process and time
- Check their reputation and legal accreditation. The right company should be licensed and bone fide member of at least one or two professional bodies.
Keep it Simple
When it comes to creating an online shopping app, simplicity is everything. The online shopper doesn’t have time to skimp through the clutter, so make sure your mobile app is simple.
Here are some pointers on how to make the app simple.
- Include an easy to find navigation
- Have a simple and uncluttered layout
- A search function should be in a conspicuous location and effective.
- Include a shopping cart and checkout feature
- Customer support button to quickly respond to queries.
- Unclutter homepage that highlights the popular products and promotions
- Payment gateway with secure payment options such as Apple Pay and Stripe
- Smart push notifications for personalised messages and promotion updates
Avoid making the mistake of including hundreds of features that you think to help the customers complete a purchase. Do the research and A/B tests to identify the essential features. Delete any feature that is not necessary to make your online shopping app clutter-free.
Allow Users Select their Favourite Products
If this is your first time developing an online shopping app during the initial stages, it is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that you know what kind of products your customers want.
Please don’t do that. Understand that most of them spend time browsing the product catalogue when bored, and so they are less likely to make a purchase instantly. Therefore, give them a chance to visit again to purchase a product they came across in the previous visit.Â
It is also extremely important to allow customers to create their list of favourite products instead of giving them recommendations. When they are ready to convert, they will find the products independently by typing the name in the search function and not browsing through many pages.Â
Forever 21 and Urban Outfitters are perfect examples of brands that profit greatly by embracing this model. Their target customers are young and often have to seek permission from parents or guardians before purchasing a product.Â
Frequently Asked Questions About Online Shopping Apps
What is the cost of developing an online shopping app?
The cost depends on the development company, features, and another special project required. Also, the versatility of the design and complexity of the app greatly influence the cost. However, expect to pay anywhere between SDG 50,000 and SGD 300,000.Â
How do I create an online shopping app for my business?
Well, there are two options, you can use one of the eCommerce app builders available online or hire a reputable app development company. The first option is ideal for new companies trying to get a firm footing in the industry. Though cheap, you will have to use an app design that hundreds of brands are already use.
By hiring an app development company, you will get a unique online shopping app that suits your brand and is unique. You won’t struggle to stand out from the crowd, and customers will get a unique mobile shopping experience.Â
Weigh the pros and cons of each option to find one that best suits your business model. Don’t just focus on the short-term objectives – go for an option that will still work for your business as it scales up.
Which is the best online shopping app for mobile?
With the many online shopping apps today, it is hard to choose which is the best. Millions of shoppers love the Amazon shopping app for its intuitive and user-friendly design, easy and secure checkout process, and accessibility. A recent report shows it has approximately 150.6 million users in the United States.
Which is the best, Flipkart or Amazon?
Even though Amazon offers one of the best customer experiences, Flipkart is today’s most trusted online shopping app. Flipkart is popular in India, but Amazon is global; that’s why its numbers are a higher than Flipkart.Â
Frequently Asked Questions About Online Shopping Apps
What is the cost of developing an online shopping app?
The cost depends on the development company, features, and another special project required. Also, the versatility of the design and complexity of the app greatly influence the cost. However, expect to pay anywhere between SDG 50,000 and SGD 300,000.Â
How do I create an online shopping app for my business?
Well, there are two options, you can use one of the eCommerce app builders available online or hire a reputable app development company. The first option is ideal for new companies trying to get a firm footing in the industry. Though cheap, you will have to use an app design that hundreds of brands are already use.
By hiring an app development company, you will get a unique online shopping app that suits your brand and is unique. You won’t struggle to stand out from the crowd, and customers will get a unique mobile shopping experience.Â
Weigh the pros and cons of each option to find one that best suits your business model. Don’t just focus on the short-term objectives – go for an option that will still work for your business as it scales up.
Which is the best online shopping app for mobile?
With the many online shopping apps today, it is hard to choose which is the best. Millions of shoppers love the Amazon shopping app for its intuitive and user-friendly design, easy and secure checkout process, and accessibility. A recent report shows it has approximately 150.6 million users in the United States.
Which is the best, Flipkart or Amazon?
Even though Amazon offers one of the best customer experiences, Flipkart is today’s most trusted online shopping app. Flipkart is popular in India, but Amazon is global; that’s why its numbers are a higher than Flipkart.Â
