THE CHANGING CONSUMPTION PATTERN IN SINGAPORE : RECENT CHANGES IN ENVIRONMENTAL VARIABLES AND THEIR CONSEQUENCES FOR FUTURE CONSUMPTION AND MARKETING

Abstract

"The mass market has split into ever multiplying, ever changing sets of mini-markets that demand a continually expanding range of options, models, types, sizes, colours and customisations." So said Alvin Toffler, author of The Third Wave¹, and so it is, that with progress, everything changes. The consumer landscape of Singapore has evolved along with the country's progress from a newly independent country in the 1960s to the modern cosmopolitan city of today. With the vast strides achieved in the education and income levels, brand names of the past years are no longer protected by traditions and custom. Retailers not only have to deal with discerning and brand conscious Singaporeans, but also have to contend with Hongkong and other countries in attracting tourists to shop here. With technological breakthroughs and the increased use of telecommunications and electronic gadgets, new avenues for marketing through bar-coding and home shopping are being explored. The result of such challenges are vast new approaches to the way marketers approach the marketing mix. In this ever changing consumer world, never has the use of marketing research been more crucial in making decisions. This honours thesis aims to provide a review of the macroeconomic variables facing the economy and the consequences of such variables on consumption patterns, and hence marketing. It is also about changes- changes in the consumer market, and the changing consumer himself. It is hoped that this thesis would provide the reader with a better understanding of what is happening in the consumer market and more importantly, what could happen in the future. ¹ quote from the 1990 Asian Direct Marketing Symposium.