Singaporean online shoppers complain the most and yell in CAPS too: Study

It's a known fact that the Singapore society is notorious for their love to complain about anything under the sun.

They gripe a great deal online too. And this tendency extends to their online shopping behaviour.

In an analysis of 30,000 consumer reviews on e-commerce in Singapore and Southeast Asia, we emerged number one for churning out the most number of complaints, according to iPrice group, an e-commerce affiliate network, which studied the data with Trusted Company.

Here are 6 of their more interesting findings on the traits of Singaporeans making online purchases.

1. COMPLAIN THE MOST

Online shoppers from Singapore provide the most number of complaints. Of all the complaints from Southeast Asia, more than a third or 34.7 per cent came from Singapore. Whining at second spot are people in Philippines (30.2 per cent), followed by Thailand at 28.67 per cent.

So, why do we complain so much? Our answer: We probably have superior knowledge about products and services because of our wide experiences and we are better informed. No apologies for that.

2. WRITE COMPLAINTS IN CAPITAL LETTERS

When it comes to making a complaint, we want to make sure that it gets the necessary attention immediately. So chances are many of us (25 per cent) pen our feedback in capital letters, which suggests we are venting our frustration by 'yelling out loud' about what displeases us.

Malaysians are the next group likely to bang out their dissatisfaction in caps.

3. HARD TO IMPRESS

On their overall satisfaction wth e-commerce, Singaporeans rate their experiences 2.9 out of 5 stars, while Indonesians seem quite easy to please as they would award 4 out of 5 stars on the average.

Are Singaporeans really such a difficult lot? Maybe...maybe not. On the fllip side, e-commerce companies could do their part by improving their systems, product quality and accuracy of product description, among other things.

4. HIGHEST REFUND REQUESTS

Almost a third or 29 per cent of Singaporean reviewers had demanded a refund. The next group pressing for that are Malaysians, but their figures are relatively low at 8.3 per cent.

The result on Singaporean buyers doesn't surprise since more than a third of Singapore shoppers had complained about their experiences.

5. LESS PRICE SENSITIVE COMPARED TO OTHER SOUTHEAST ASIANS

Now, one trait that e-commerce owners should like about us.

With the most disposable income in Southeast Asia, Singaporeans are unlikely to complain about online prices. Only 8.69 per cent or 1 in 10 probably thought they didn't get their money's worth or were overcharged.

People in the Philippines complain the most about prices (20.05 per cent) followed by Malaysians (9.73 per cent).

6. LOVE TO SHARE

E-stores should give us hugs and loyalty points for taking the trouble to share information about our favoured products with others.

Although Singaporeans are the most finicky, they are more likely to share their joy publicly if their shopping experience meets or exceeds their expectations.

They are twice more passionate than Indonesians in this aspect.

chenj@sph.com.sg