FedEx Survey Highlights 34% of Singaporean Consumers Kick Off Year-End Holiday Shopping in October

Singapore, December 8, 2025 — Federal Express Corporation, one of the world’s largest express transportation companies, released insights from a recent survey exploring trends and sentiment around the year-end festive shopping season among businesses and consumers across Asia Pacific (APAC) and Europe, including Singapore.

Conducted in September 2025, the survey gathered insights from 850 small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) and 850 consumers across 13 APAC markets, including 100 Singaporean SMEs and 100 Singaporean consumers who actively purchase from European sellers. It also examines business expectations for the holiday gifting season and highlights customer preferences and concerns.

Singaporean Consumers Shop Early and Prioritize Speed
Most Singaporean consumers start their holiday shopping in October (34%), followed by November (27%) and December (19%), underscoring the importance of early fulfillment and delivery strategies. The findings also reveal strong optimism, with 45% of consumers intending to do more online shopping compared to last year and 33% planning to complete at least half of their holiday shopping online. Fashion, food, and luxury products remain particularly popular, with product quality (69%), brand reputation (57%), and product uniqueness (47%) guiding purchase decisions.

Cross-border e-commerce and major online shopping festivals continue to fuel demand. This year, shopping festivals such as Double 11, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday are especially influential, with 79% of Singaporean consumers factoring these events into their holiday purchase planning. Reflecting this trend, SMEs are adjusting their strategies, with 91% of APAC businesses (95% for Singaporean businesses) and 83% of European businesses viewing e-commerce shopping festivals as critical for capturing seasonal demand.

Logistics and Delivery Are Key Purchase Drivers
Speed is a top priority for Singaporean consumers, with 85% considering fast delivery important. Yet, delayed deliveries (57%) and elevated shipping costs (45%) are the primary pain points from previous seasons, underscoring the need for e-tailers to optimize logistics performance and customer experience.

These concerns directly impact purchasing decisions. More than half of Singaporean consumers surveyed stated they would be more likely to buy from European sellers if shipping costs were lower (57%), product choice was greater (53%), and delivery times were faster (53%). The survey also revealed that most Singaporean consumers purchase European products through e-commerce marketplaces (59%), more than double the share of direct brand websites (23%) and physical stores (15%), highlighting a strong preference towards online shopping.

Singaporean SMEs are responding to these rising expectations, with 41% enhancing fulfillment and delivery operations and 39% offering more localized products or product ranges for the European market. Encouragingly, 88% report confidence in meeting delivery deadlines for international shipments this holiday season.

Empowering SMEs with Integrated E-Commerce and Digital Logistics Solutions
“Singaporean consumers are driving APAC’s year-end e-commerce momentum by starting their holiday shopping earlier than most markets. Early shopping behavior requires businesses to maintain strong fulfillment operations over an extended peak while meeting growing expectations for speed and convenience,” said Eric Tan, managing director, FedEx Singapore. “FedEx supports SMEs with advanced digital tools and an extensive global network to ensure timely deliveries and superior customer experience throughout the season.”

FedEx’s comprehensive e-commerce solutions support e-tailers in streamlining order fulfillment. The company has integrated its Ship Manager platform, with leading e-commerce marketplaces such as Shopify and BigCommerce, enabling APAC e-tailers to create shipments and manage paperwork directly from their online orders. These easy-to-use, friction-free services are crucial for e-commerce merchants, especially during the busy holiday season when order volumes increase significantly.

To meet rising expectations for speed and reliability, e-commerce shipping services such as FedEx® International Connect Plus (FICP) help merchants ship within Asia Pacific as well as to the U.S. and Europe. This cost-effective international solution typically delivers most shipments within one to three business days, aligning closely with consumer demand for fast delivery.

Last-mile delivery also remains central to shaping consumer experience, and FedEx has built a network of approximately 260,000 smart lockers across APAC, providing customers with secure pickup locations. Additionally, customizable delivery options, along with direct messaging and convenient tracking through digital tools like FedEx® Delivery Manager International and Picture of Proof Delivery, provide consumers with the assurance that their packages have been delivered right to their doorsteps.

About the Survey
This online survey was conducted by Milieu Insight in September 2025 across 13 Asia Pacific markets including Australia, New Zealand, China, Hong Kong SAR, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam; and by Mortar Research across 9 European markets including the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Turkey, the Netherlands, Poland, Italy, Belgium and Germany. The survey gathered insights from 1,205 European engaged in international trade, alongside 850 Asia Pacific consumers and 850 SMEs who actively trade with Europe. Click here to download the full report.