Commenting on the increase in online retail platforms springing up locally, SMU Associate Professor of Marketing Seshan Ramaswami said, “It's going to be difficult to get Singaporeans to shop at these fairly new sites. It'll take a lot of brand building, a lot of advertising to make sure that people think these are reliable places... If I give my money to these folks, the products will be delivered on time, they'll be delivered in exactly the condition they say it'll be delivered in – all these things are concerns consumers might have compared to shopping at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and major worldwide websites... So I think these are major credibility challenges new retailers are going to have to face.”