PUBLISHED ONFebruary 09, 2026 9:15 AMBYDana LeongComplaints against the beauty industry in Singapore spiked by 76.2 per cent in 2025, leading to cumulative losses exceeding $2.1 million.
In a media release on Monday (Feb 9), the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) said the beauty industry received the most complaints in 2025, with 2,113 complaints compared to 1,199 complaints the year prior.
In particular, the abrupt closure of massage and foot reflexology chain Wan Yang in November last year accounted for approximately $1,250,000 in prepayment losses, representing over half of the losses within the beauty industry, said Case.
Of the complaints received against the beauty industry in 2025, approximately two in five involved prepayment losses resulting from sudden business closures, while around one in five involved unfair practices such as pressure sales tactics and misleading claims.
Melvin Yong, president of Case, said that the sharp rise in prepayment losses in 2025 highlights the "urgent need for stronger safeguards".
"While Case has supported affected Wan Yang consumers through claims assistance and goodwill treatments from CaseTrust-accredited businesses, such goodwill cannot be guaranteed," he said, adding that stronger, proactive consumer protection measures are needed.
Prepayment losses in the renovation contractors and travel industries for 2025 were much lower in comparison, at $190,667 and $59,987 respectively.
Case noted that prepayment losses in the renovation contractors industry decreased by 73.8 per cent, with the number of complaints also declining to 787, largely due to greater consumer awareness of prepayment risks and increased take-up of CaseTrust-accredited renovation contractors.
While the travel industry ranked sixth in terms of the number of complaints filed, Case found a 47.4 per cent increase in complaints from 420 in 2024 to 619 in 2025.
Over half of the complaints were related to cancellations, changes in travel itineraries or disputes over refund amounts, while 91.6 per cent of the complaints received involved online travel agents.
According to Case, the travel industry also accounted for the largest share of e-commerce complaints (11.8 per cent).
In such cases, consumers did not receive refunds on time, in full, or as promised by online travel agents, or did not have their bookings honoured.
"As travel rebounds, complaints against online travel agents are also rising... We are seeing problems like bookings not being honoured and websites using designs that pressure or mislead consumers into booking quickly," said Yong, adding that Case has conveyed their concerns to the Consumer Protection Review Panel.
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