$1B Lost to Bad Customer Service in SG

Singaporean customers spend 40 million hours on hold due to inefficient customer service

Author

Anand Srinivasan
June 10, 2025

“Just one small positive thought in the morning can change your whole day.”: Dalai Lama

Today’s top stories:

  • Over 25% of food & beverage sales in Singapore is online

  • Singapore Forex reserves hits 3 month high

  • Poor customer service costing Singapore customers $1 billion in lost productivity

  • Singapore to enforce stricter sodium and fat labelling by 2027

Over 25% of food & beverage sales in Singapore is online

  • F&B market grew 1.2% YoY in April this year

  • Total sales: $974 million (25.9% was online)

  • YoY growth in food categories:

    • Food & beverages: 1.2%

    • Food caterers: 19.9%

    • Cafes and food courts: 0.6%

    • Fast food outlets: 1.9%

    • Restaurants: -3.7%

Singapore Forex reserves hits 3 month high

  • Forex reserves as of May 2025: SGD 518.08 billion

  • Up from SGD 508.22 billion in April 2025

  • Driven by rise in gold & foreign exchange

Poor customer service costing Singapore customers $1 billion in lost productivity

  • Singaporean customers spend 40 million hours on hold due to inefficient customer service

  • That translate to USD 1 billion in lost productivity

  • Inefficiency due to disconnected systems and limited self-service options

  • 85 percent of consumers would leave a brand after a poor service experience

Singapore to enforce stricter sodium and fat labelling by 2027

  • Nutri-grade labeling and advertising rules to extend to sodium and saturated fat

  • Extends to 23 sub-categories of prepacked salt, sauces, seasonings, instant noodles, and cooking oil

  • Products must now contain a grade - ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’, or ‘D’

  • Products with C or D grade must adhere to front-of-pack Nutri-grade label

Chart of the day

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