Digitalisation was occurring even before COVID-19 hit the world, but the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns rapidly accelerated it as businesses—especially the ones in traditional industries such as finance, education, and healthcare—and governments had no choice but to make all their critical offerings and operations available online.
Most of them adapted well to this change and are continuing on their digital growth trajectory. Blackbox Research has been tracking the digitalisation journey of the public sector organisations in Singapore since pre-pandemic 2019, and our Public Service Experience Index (PSXI), currently in its third edition, covers this in detail.
Cash and cards make way for newer ways to pay
A trend that existed pre-lockdown but experienced a spurt during the pandemic is digital payment. While conventional ways to pay still exist, Singaporeans are increasingly comfortable with digital payment methods and the usage of PayNow and PayLah! is commonplace.
The adoption of digital banking services is likely to continue its growth trajectory, and with cryptocurrencies thrown into the mix, we are set for some interesting times ahead.
Consulting the Digital GP
COVID-19, and the loss of life it brought in its wake, has made health a priority for many Singaporeans. This awareness now goes beyond physical visits to a doctor, and citizens are increasingly welcoming of telehealth services as well, e.g., online doctor consultations. In our latest study, we found that 1 in 2 Singaporeans are enthusiastic about telemedicine services.
To further encourage this, Singapore’s Ministry of Health now permits using government subsidies and a national medical savings scheme (MediSave) to pay for doctor follow-ups (via video consultations) for approved chronic diseases.
Digital learning resonates with Singaporeans
With people expected to adapt, this understandably has led to a steep digital learning curve for many, especially the silver generation.
While the struggle was real, the majority of Singaporeans consider digital learning to be a positive development for the future, with 64% opining that it will prove to be a good change over time.
Web 3.0: Still in infancy
It is hard to read news articles, especially on finance, these days without cryptocurrencies or non-fungible tokens (NFTs) being mentioned in them. Overall, younger Singaporeans seem keener on these newer digital offerings albeit with some reservations while the older generation remain sceptical. This scepticism could be due to the negative press generated of late, owing to unscrupulous players who exploited NFTs as ‘pump and dump’ scams and concerns that cryptocurrencies and NFTs are merely speculative assets with little value.
As newer applications to these technologies continue to emerge, their eventual success will depend on widespread acceptance and behaviour among users.
As things currently stand, however, there has been a massive decline in NFT sales, attributable to, in the words of Chainalysis economist Ethan McMahon, “broader slowdown in crypto markets”. The worth of the wider cryptocurrency market has fallen to under USD 1 trillion from a November 2021 high of approximately USD 3 trillion.
Metaverse—the fully digital world so to speak—is also something that remains more in the ‘concept stage’ for most Singaporeans with 39% expressing enthusiasm for it and 45% not too impressed. Here, too, the younger generation seems keener, with 1 in 2 (50%) onboard with the idea.
Bridging the digital divide
With any ‘disruptive’ change that occurs, it is important to ensure that no one is left behind in the journey. Hence, addressing the digital divide is the need of the hour, and there have been efforts in that direction with programmes such as ‘Seniors Go Digital’ and ‘Donate your Data’, details of which we covered in our article, Seniors and Digitalisation: How to find the ‘silver’ lining.
While such efforts are certainly a step in the right direction, a concern remains that these programmes assume that only seniors struggle with new technologies, whereas the truth is that many people, regardless of age group, may need assistance. Ensuring that everyone is on board when it comes to digitalisation is the way forward.
The above offers a glimpse into our full study, “Emerging From The Pandemic: The New Mood in Singapore”. If you would like to get your hands on the report, drop us an email on connect@blackbox.com.sg with the subject line: “Send me my free report, please!” and we will have it sent across right away.
Author: Blackbox Research Team
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