A $10b company has overtaken Amazon at the top of Singapore’s app store rankings

Photo credit: varijanta / 123RF Stock Photo.

Amazon’s Prime Now was Singapore’s highest-ranked shopping app on both Apple’s App Store and Google Play every day from launch until August 7. That’s when it was overtaken on both charts by Wish.

San Francisco-based Wish specializes in shipping low-price, no-brand goods directly from Chinese manufacturers, and leverages social media platforms like Facebook to make sales. The company has raised over US$1 billion in funding since launching in 2010; most recently, it secured US$500 million in a series F round led by Singaporean state fund Temasek Holdings. China’s JD is another shareholder.

In addition to its eponymous app, the US company is also behind similar ecommerce platforms Geek and Mama.

Interestingly, Business Insider reported in late 2015 that Amazon approached Wish with a jaw-dropping US$10 billion acquisition offer. Alibaba was also reported to have expressed interest in taking Wish under its wing.

According to Recode, Wish generally ranks second after Amazon in US app store shopping categories. In Singapore it was a lot farther behind according to app analytics firm App Annie, skyrocketing to the top of local app tables on August 6 and 7. As of today, it retains top spot in Google Play’s shopping rankings.

It has also returned to prime position in the corresponding App Store category after being briefly overtaken by Carousell and Ezbuy.

It is not clear what is behind this rapid rise. Wish is yet to respond to Tech in Asia’s request for comment, and App Annie declined to comment. Notably, App Annie data reveals that Wish also leapt up the app rankings in nearby Thailand at around the same time.

Shaking up the status quo

It is just shy of four weeks since Amazon Prime Now went live in Singapore on July 27, with the Prime Now app becoming available for download the night before.

According to App Annie, Amazon Prime Now was the most downloaded mobile app in Singapore on the App Store on the day of its official launch, with more than 2,500 downloads.

App rankings – do they really matter?

The new normal