HOW E-COMMERCE AFFECTS THE RETAIL AND WAREHOUSE SPACE MARKET

Abstract

As Southeast Asia (SEA) becomes the next center stage for the growth of e-commerce globally, Singapore is seeing huge changes in its retail and logistics ecosystem. The impacts on the retail and warehouse space market could be substantial given the limited land space available. This dissertation seeks to investigate how the growth of e-commerce in Singapore affects the retail and warehouse space market on a macroscopic level. The analysis carried out is focused on these areas: 1)How does e-commerce impact the supply and demand side of the retail and warehouse space market 2) How does the inception of e-commerce impact the relation between the different trade performance and the demand for space in the different space markets. Inductive and comparative analysis and correlation analysis methods are used to examine the impact. It is found that the both the supply and demand side of the retail space market is negatively related to the performance of the -ecommerce market. However, the trend is changing with retailers and malls fighting back by taking a different managing approach and space usage pattern. For the warehouse space market, it is found that the supply side of the warehouse space market is positively related to the performance of the e- commerce market. However, the relation of the demand-side of the warehouse space market and performance of the ecommerce market is inconclusive. It is also observed that there may be a change in the use and type of space required by wholesalers and e- commerce and logistics companies.