Shopee and Taobao Reshape Singapore Furniture Retail as Local Brands Adapt

A S$1,200 Sofa Shows the Pressure on Local Stores

A customizable electric sofa costing S$1,200 on Taobao before shipping can sell for more than S$3,000 in a Singapore showroom. That price gap helps explain why first homeowners and younger buyers are turning to online marketplaces, putting pressure on furniture retailers that must pay for shops, warehouses and service staff.

Some couples report furnishing an entire home for as little as S$6,000, even after shipping and assembly. For households balancing furniture purchases with the other costs of setting up a home, those savings can shape where they shop and how much they buy.

As of July 29, 2025, Singapore's furniture market is being reshaped by platforms including Shopee and Taobao. Established local brands and physical showrooms face competition from sellers offering lower prices, convenient delivery and a much wider selection than any single store can display.

The change reaches beyond the checkout. Overseas factories can sell directly to Singapore consumers, retailers are reconsidering the amount of space they need, and younger customers increasingly treat furniture as something they may replace when their tastes change.

Local brands including Cellini and Commune face a difficult balance. They must explain the value of design, quality and service while competing with prices that can be roughly a third of those in local shops. Their responses range from smaller premises to digital showrooms and closer connections between online browsing and visits to stores.

Why Buyers Are Moving Online

Nurasheila Abdul Razak and Syakir Sabirin furnished about 90 percent of their home online. As busy professionals, they valued being able to shop at any time and have purchases delivered directly to their doorstep. Their experience illustrates how furniture shopping can fit around work instead of requiring repeated trips to showrooms.

Shopee and Taobao also give buyers access to thousands of styles, colours and configurations. A household looking for a particular sofa size or a colour that matches its renovation can compare many options without depending on what a nearby store has room to display.

Taobao's language barrier has become less of an obstacle with English versions and improved translation tools. Buyers who previously found Chinese product listings difficult to navigate can now search and compare products more easily.

Online platforms report strong growth of double digits in Singapore's home and furniture category. Shopee's buyer numbers doubled and sales tripled over the preceding five years, showing that the expansion involves both a larger customer base and much more business.

Price remains a powerful attraction. The S$1,200 electric sofa example leaves a gap of more than S$1,800 against a showroom price above S$3,000 before shipping is added. Delivery and assembly affect the final bill, which is why the reported S$6,000 cost of furnishing whole homes is also relevant to buyers weighing their choices.

Convenience, selection and price work together. A cheaper item becomes more attractive when a customer can find the preferred size, order it outside shop hours and arrange delivery without making another journey.

Furniture Is Becoming a More Temporary Purchase

Younger Singaporeans are changing how they think about furniture ownership. Previous generations often regarded a sofa, table or cabinet as an investment intended to last for many years. Some younger buyers instead choose pieces around current trends, their present tastes or the period they expect to live in a particular flat.

Affordable online options make replacing furniture easier. A buyer can change a room's appearance without committing the amount that a more expensive showroom purchase would require. The result is a "buy and throw" approach in which low purchase prices help make shorter periods of ownership possible.

Furniture that is replaced more frequently also creates concerns about waste and environmental impact. The question for households becomes how to balance a low initial price with durability and the likelihood that an item will still suit their needs later.

Retailers therefore face changes in both shopping habits and expectations. They are competing for buyers who may prioritise a look that suits the moment rather than a product they expect to keep indefinitely.

Local Retailers Face Costs That Online Sellers Can Avoid

Cellini, Commune and other Singapore furniture businesses operate in a market where showroom and warehouse rents are high. Many have moved manufacturing overseas to keep prices competitive, yet the costs of maintaining a local retail presence remain.

Overseas factories selling directly through online platforms put further pressure on retailers' margins. A margin is the money left from a sale after relevant costs are paid. When customers expect lower prices while shops still have rent and other expenses, less money is left to support the business.

Urban Salvation has reduced its physical footprint to cut costs. Its response reflects a practical decision facing furniture sellers: how much space to retain when customers can browse a large part of the market on a phone.

Some retailers also worry about becoming places where people inspect products before purchasing elsewhere online at a lower price. This practice, known as "showrooming", means a shop provides the opportunity to see and touch furniture but may lose the sale that would help pay for that space.

Johor Bahru adds another source of competition. Furniture retailers in the Malaysian city attract Singapore buyers with lower prices supported by lower operating costs. Singapore stores therefore compete with nearby physical retailers as well as digital platforms and distant factories.

Southeast Asia has become a contested market for traditional and digital furniture sellers. For Singapore businesses, the pressure comes from several directions at once: local operating expenses, regional price competition and direct access to overseas suppliers.

How Cellini Is Combining Stores and Digital Shopping

Cellini was founded in 1986 and takes its name from the Italian sculptor Benvenuto Cellini. The premium Singapore furniture brand has built its reputation around quality and design, and now operates 57 stores across four countries.

The company runs its own factories in Indonesia and Malaysia. This arrangement, called vertical integration, means it controls manufacturing as well as retailing rather than relying entirely on outside producers. Cellini uses that control to manage quality and reduce exposure to supply chain disruptions, an advantage during the pandemic.

Physical stores remain central to the company's strategy. They give customers a place to inspect furniture, while its virtual showroom and digital content help reach people who begin their shopping online.

E-commerce accounts for less than 10 percent of Cellini's revenue. Its digital investment is nevertheless part of an effort to connect with younger customers who are accustomed to browsing and buying through screens.

Cellini is also exploring augmented reality and other technologies. Augmented reality places digital images into a view of the real world, potentially helping a shopper picture furniture in a room. The company is waiting for the technology to mature before adopting it at full scale; no adoption date has been given.

Advanced manufacturing, skilled craftsmanship and customer feedback are other parts of Cellini's approach. Together, they support a strategy in which the company seeks to compete on the product and the shopping experience as well as price.

The Wider E-Commerce Market Behind the Shift

Singapore's e-commerce market reached US$8.2 billion in gross merchandise volume in 2022, with a projection of US$11 billion by 2025. Gross merchandise volume measures the value of goods sold through a market or platform, rather than the profit sellers retain.

The projection represents an increase of US$2.8 billion, or about 34 percent, from the 2022 figure. Furniture and household equipment account for about 30 percent of online sales, placing the category second to computer and telecommunications equipment.

Major online furniture retailers include Shopee, Taobao, ikea.com, amazon.sg, fortytwo.sg, fairprice.com.sg and hipvan.com. The top three online stores together account for more than a third of market share, while global companies and local startups compete for customer attention.

The dates and figures show how an established furniture sector is operating within a growing digital market:

• 1986: Cellini was founded in Singapore.
• 2022: Singapore's e-commerce market reached US$8.2 billion in gross merchandise volume.
• 2025: The market was projected to reach US$11 billion.
• July 29, 2025: Local furniture retailers faced expanding competition from online platforms and regional sellers.

Singapore's location and advanced logistics infrastructure support its role as a regional e-commerce hub. The country hosts numerous fulfilment centres and attracts major logistics companies including FedEx, UPS and DHL. High logistics costs remain a challenge, particularly for trade across borders.

Many Customers Still Want to See Furniture in Person

Academic research identifies a growing preference for shopping across both online and physical channels. This is often called omnichannel shopping: a customer may browse digitally, visit a shop to inspect a product and then complete the purchase through whichever channel suits them.

Younger buyers, people with higher incomes and those with more education are more likely to shop online. Even so, many customers still value the ability to see and touch furniture before paying for it. A photograph offers a different experience from sitting on a sofa or examining a table's finish.

A study published in Nature describes the appeal of combining the two channels:

The omnichannel model, which integrates online convenience with offline physical experiences, is increasingly favored, with standalone branded websites and physical stores both playing important roles.

Retailers are responding by connecting their digital and physical operations, offering personalised services and improving support after a sale. The aim is to serve different groups of customers while giving them reasons to return.

For furniture businesses, this means a website and a showroom can support the same purchase. Digital browsing helps customers narrow their choices, while a store visit can provide the physical experience they still want. Service after delivery becomes another part of the relationship.

Chinese Imports and New Selling Models Expand Competition

Low priced Chinese goods are putting pressure on local industries across Southeast Asia, not just Singapore's furniture retailers. China has redirected exports towards the region in response to Western tariffs and slower demand at home.

Chinese manufacturers benefit from government support, tax rebates and efficient supply chains. These advantages make it difficult for local producers to compete on price. Free trade agreements and improved logistics also help goods move across borders.

Taobao and AliExpress give consumers easier access to purchases directly from Chinese factories. Similar competitive pressures affect textiles and electronics, with local manufacturers responding by reducing prices, concentrating on premium products or finding smaller markets with particular needs.

Dropshipping adds another way for sellers to enter the furniture business. Under this model, a retailer accepts an order while a third party supplier handles fulfilment and ships the product directly to the customer. The retailer can offer many products without keeping all of them in its own warehouse or handling every delivery.

Platforms including Shopify, AliExpress and DHgate have made starting a furniture dropshipping business easier. Lower entry costs allow sellers to expand quickly, increasing the number of businesses competing for the same buyers.

Quality control and customer service become important points of difference in that crowded market. Customers concerned about damaged or substandard furniture need a seller capable of dealing with problems, even when another company makes and ships the item.

Bulky Deliveries Put Logistics at the Centre

Furniture creates demands that go beyond moving small parcels. Sofas, tables and cabinets can be bulky or fragile, and orders may require specialised delivery, assembly and arrangements for returns.

Singapore's developed logistics sector is well placed to serve this market, but high costs and the complexity of trade across borders remain obstacles. For a household, the delivery and assembly bill is part of the actual cost of furnishing a home.

A McKinsey logistics analysis describes Southeast Asian e-commerce as entering a new phase. Customers are buying a wider range of products online, while merchants are diversifying where they obtain goods.

Logistics providers consequently need services that cover the full journey across borders, from sourcing and transport through delivery. Technology can help improve efficiency and the customer experience as those journeys become more varied.

Furniture retailers also have opportunities to distinguish themselves through service, experiences in stores and durable products. Makers of furniture designed to individual requirements can focus on craftsmanship and customisation, areas where standardised imports face difficulty meeting every customer's preferences.

Other local brands are investing in digital marketing, social media engagement and shopping that connects websites with stores. Those approaches seek to reach younger customers while building loyalty beyond a single purchase.

Affordability Meets Demand for Furniture That Lasts

Singapore's furniture market is seeing rising demand for modern, minimalist designs and furniture that saves space. Environmentally friendly options are also attracting interest, while government initiatives promoting home ownership and renovation are helping drive market growth.

Globally, demand is growing for sustainable materials, modular designs and products that can adapt as people's needs change. Modular furniture uses separate components that can be rearranged or combined, giving buyers ways to change a layout without replacing everything.

The appeal of cheap, fashionable furniture sits alongside concern about the waste created by frequent replacement. Households must balance the convenience and affordability of a purchase with its quality and expected usefulness.

Local retailers face the same balancing act in their business decisions. They need prices and shopping options that appeal to increasingly selective customers, while making a case for durability, service and products suited to changing homes. Cellini's combination of manufacturing control, craftsmanship and digital engagement offers one example of that response; smaller premises and specialised custom work offer others.

Key Points

• A customizable electric sofa can cost S$1,200 on Taobao before shipping, compared with more than S$3,000 in a Singapore showroom.
• Some couples report furnishing entire homes for as little as S$6,000, including shipping and assembly.
• Shopee's buyer numbers doubled and sales tripled over the preceding five years.
• Singapore retailers face high rents, direct sales from overseas factories and competition from Johor Bahru.
• Cellini operates 57 stores across four countries, with e-commerce contributing less than 10 percent of revenue.
• Singapore's e-commerce market reached US$8.2 billion in 2022 and was projected to reach US$11 billion in 2025.
• Retailers are combining online shopping with physical stores, customer service and specialised products.
• Frequent furniture replacement creates waste concerns as demand grows for durable, adaptable and environmentally friendly options.