Last updated: 29 October 2026
Online shopping is now a large part of Singapore retail. SingStat reports that an estimated 14.4% of total retail sales in January 2026 came from online retail sales, after 14.8% in December 2025. Customers expect small retailers to be as convenient as the big platforms. These strategies help an online retailer compete.
Make the website easy to use on a phone
Many shoppers browse on their phones, so test your site on one. Keep product information clear, show reviews near the buy button and make checkout short. Remove any step that does not help the customer finish the purchase.
Know your customers with a CRM
You cannot market well to everyone. Record who buys what, how often and through which channel. Group customers into first-time buyers, repeat buyers and lapsed customers, and send each group a different message. Even a simple CRM can do this. Our guide to CRM features to look for in 2026 explains what to check.
Use chat and social channels for service and sales
Customers ask questions on WhatsApp, Instagram and website chat before they buy. Reply quickly, keep templates for common questions and log each conversation against the customer record. Get consent before you send marketing messages, as the PDPA expects.
Use AI where it saves time
- Product descriptions: draft with AI, then edit so every detail is accurate.
- Customer questions: let an assistant answer common questions, with a hand-off to a person for returns and complaints.
- Reviews and feedback: sort them into themes to see what customers complain about most.
- Campaigns: draft email and social copy, then test two versions. Our guide to AI for inbound marketing goes further.
Keep customers coming back
Every new customer costs money to win, so repeat purchases matter. Follow up after delivery, ask for a review and send a relevant offer to customers who bought something related.
Measure what works
Track conversion rate, repeat purchase rate and the cost of each channel. Cut the channels that do not pay back and move the budget to the ones that do.
Earlier versions of this article recommended proximity marketing through Bluetooth beacons. We removed it, because most retailers get better results from the basics above.
If your marketing team wants practical AI skills, see our three-day course, Developing Effective Inbound Marketing Strategies with AI. Government subsidies may apply for eligible learners. For other sectors that use CRM, see 7 industries that use CRM the most.
Need help setting up customer data and follow-up for your online store? Talk to us.