d Singaporeans have a sophisticated palate, and there are many international communities in Singapore. We have also seen an increasing focus for health and wellness, alternative protein products, dairy alternatives and alcohol-free products,” he told Inside Retail. As inflation rises and tougher economic times start to bite, households in Singapore have switched to house brands to reduce spending. Schricke noted that RedMart tries to pass the savings to customers via its private label brand. “Our insights led us to expand our RedMart private label range to include more premium products that won’t break the bank – examples include ham, nut butters, hummus, kefir, croissants and even gin,” he said. An ever-evolving space According to Dr Seshan Ramaswami, associate professor of marketing education at Singapore Management University, Singaporeans were already in the process of transitioning to e-shopping for purchases before the pandemic hit. “Other than international players like Amazon, numerous Chinese platforms such as Taobao and AliExpress had been making major inroads among Singaporean shoppers,” he told Inside Retail. He noted that the pandemic accelerated that process and resulted in an even bigger proportion of daily, weekly and monthly expenses being purchased online. Items like grocery products, fast food and beverages were among the last bastions for the transition. “The lockdowns and restrictions on movements within Singapore, fears of contracting the virus, and the increased acceptance of work from home practices all have led to growing acceptance of e-commerce for a majority of one’s needs – even of frequently purchased goods,” he added. The challenges While Ramaswami believes that trustworthiness and product quality will not be an issue for brands like Lazada’s RedMart and their competitors like Cold Storage and NTUC Fairprice, they might encounter challenges on the supply side of things. Online grocery companies need to ensure their logistics are well planned, inventory levels are maintained, and convenient delivery times are available to guarantee relevance for most consumers. “For brands like Cold Storage, which is part of the Dairy Farm group that includes other retail brands such as Giant and Guardian pharmacies, there will be advantages, in terms of superior buying power from manufacturers and omnichannel solutions,” he noted. House brands Ramaswami pointed out that RedMart is not the only company that is rolling out private label products in the marketplace. House brands at Cold Storage, Fairprice and Sheng Shiong have already gained widespread popularity and acceptance.  “These products of course are a lot more profitable for the stores, as they require minimal additional promotional expenditure, and the margins could be a lot higher, even with lower final consumer prices,” he reiterated. The key challenge here will be for supermarkets to balance the availability of major international brands while maintaining good shelf position for their house brands.  “Online, of course, shelf space is not an issue – the issue will be more one of balancing the allocation of premium spots on the online order forms for private label brands vis a vis international brands,” he explained. Market realities In the current inflationary environment in Singapore, most grocery companies are offering price-match promises and cashback promotions to woo customers, and Ramaswami believes these initiatives will be very successful in the grand scheme of things. “RedMart’s initiatives will be very effective, there could be cross-product promotions – such as purchases of clothing and electronics on Lazada beyond threshold amounts being rewarded by RedMart vouchers,” he opined. He believes that encouraging consumers to buy in bulk at lower prices could also help, as delivery is provided. In his opinion, group buy schemes on a residential block basis could be another way to lower prices for consumers. The future According to Ramaswami, one of the biggest challenges facing online grocers like RedMart is that they are competing in a larger delivery ecosystem that includes food delivery platforms like Grabfood, Foodpanda and Deliveroo. “Once a platform has the supply side organised in terms of delivery personnel and vehicles, and software capabilities in analytics and consumer interface design, competition could come from many different places,” he said. He pointed out that some of the food delivery platforms are already offering grocery purchases, too. He thinks RedMart may have to branch out into food delivery or perhaps towards deli-type and ready-to-eat foods in the future. “The future will see competition coming from all kinds of unexpected places – international players like Amazon are already offering online grocery delivery. Others may follow. Unmanned convenience stores like Pick N Go may add variations to the mix,” he concluded.