Feasibility Study of E-Marketing Strategy on Fast Food Industry

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BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE:

Singapore’s Consumer Behaviour

The Most Popular Eating Place

The rise to popularity of fast food here in Singapore could have been predicted from its advent.  When McDonalds first came to Singapore in the late 1970’s, worldwide first-day attendance records were broken. Singaporeans quickly developed their taste for burgers and fries, adding local flavours along the way like curry sauce and pineapple pie.

Following the success of McDonald’s, other fast food outlets like Pizza Hut and Burger King mushroomed all over the island. It has even penetrated our children’s hospital (KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital).

Families – with toddlers in tow – are seen eating at fast food joints during their weekend outings, thanks to the aggressive marketing strategy. According to a survey on household expenditure done by Singapore Department of Statistics, spending on fast food in Singapore has shot up by 51 per cent over five years, between 1993 and 1998. Compared to January 1999, fast food outlets experienced higher sales of 18 per cent in year 2000. Business at other eating-places was however, down by 3.2 per cent.

The Changing Culture

The economic situation in Singapore also had a very positive effect on the demand for consumer-ready food products.  The buying power of the Singaporean for imported goods is generally high and the interest in Western products is over growing.  Eating habits are changing, with more exposure to the Western world through media, travel and education abroad, setting the stage for further changes in eating habits.  This is seen most clearly in the younger population, i.e. the yuppies (young urban professionals)  and youngsters, who largely set the tone for what the weekend family menu will be.

With the rise of two-income families and the fact that more wives and mothers hold full or part-time jobs to supplement family incomes, more households are eating out rather than cooking at home.

Due to the fact that families have less time to prepare meals at home, there is greater demand for heat and serve meals, semi-prepared foods and convenience foods. 

So what contributed to the popularity of fast food? Convenience, affordability (not necessarily cheap) and as the name suggests, FAST (speed), may be the answers to the boom.

Counting Stores…

According to the Singapore Food Market Reports by ATO Singapore on 1996, there are about 200 fast food restaurants in Singapore at that time.  To-date, the number of fast food restaurants has far exceeded the above figures.

Below is a partial list of the Western Style food outlets in Singapore in 1996.  These food outlets are open to promotions and other marketing techniques.

Singapore’s Usage of Internet and Mobile Communications

With the encouragement of the government, the Singaporean’s computer literacy is high.  According to the Supplement Report to the Singapore Prime Minister Mr. Goh Chok Tong’s National Day Rally Speech for 2001, “Hi-tech” gadgets and services have become common over the last ten years.  Handphone subscription increased from 17 per 1,000 resident population in 1990 to 748 ten years later.  The number of dial-up internet subscribers also rose rapidly, from 8 per 1,000 resident population in 1995 to 595 in the year 2000.