Industry data
Curated reports and numbers we use to scope our engagements. Sources cited; interpretations our own; updated quarterly.
3.5× growth in 12 months. Non-SME adoption sits at 62.5% — a ~48-point gap. The arbitrage window between AI-laggard SMEs and AI-leader large firms is widest right now.
A brand spending S$80 to acquire a customer in 2022 is paying S$110–S$130 today on the same channels. Audience saturation is the cause; creative refresh + better targeting is the only honest response.
Most agencies optimise CR%/ROAS — vanity metrics. The actual pain is unit economics. CAC payback >90 days kills SG DTC brands. First-order profitability is where real leverage lives.
The market is growing faster than most SG SMEs are adapting their operations. Marketplaces (Shopee/Lazada/TikTok Shop) capture most of the headline growth; DTC operators must out-execute on retention and margin to compound.
Margin compression is real. AI-led ops optimisation (route batching, no-show prediction, pickup-vs-delivery routing) is one of the few levers SG operators can pull without raising prices.
Manual spreadsheet error is the #1 cause. This is fixable in 14–21 days with the right sync layer (custom n8n workflow > monthly SaaS subscription for most SG operators).
Why our entire engagement runs on WhatsApp. 98% open rate vs ~22% on email. For SG SME audiences, email is for contracts and invoices; WhatsApp is the OS.
Sources we cite when scoping engagements. Worth following directly.
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Message on WhatsApp with your storefront URL. We benchmark your CAC, AOV, and payback against SG DTC peers in your category — informally, on the chat. No commitment.