The sales and marketing industry in Singapore continues to demonstrate remarkable resilience, with significant transformations shaping the talent landscape for 2025.
Market dynamics are driving noticeable shifts in hiring patterns across different sectors. Mass market retail and fintech companies are showing robust growth in their talent acquisition efforts, while the luxury segment experiences more measured recruitment activities.
At the same time, we're seeing a decisive move away from generalist marketing roles. Employers are increasingly seeking specialists with deep expertise in specific domains rather than professionals with broad but shallow skill sets, reflecting the growing complexity of marketing functions in Singapore.
For marketing professionals, this evolution presents both challenges and opportunities. Those who can showcase both portable skills and concentrated expertise in high-demand areas are particularly well-positioned to advance their careers in this dynamic environment.
Discover insights into Singapore's job market with Randstad's 2025 Market Outlook and Salary Guide. This report analyses labour trends, salary benchmarks, bonuses, and hiring patterns across industries. Download the report to improve your talent acquisition strategies and workforce planning for the upcoming year.
AI's measured impact on sales and marketing roles
While artificial intelligence (AI) dominates headlines and boardroom discussions, its practical impact on Singapore's sales and marketing recruitment landscape has been more nuanced than initially predicted. Companies are focusing on upskilling their existing workforce rather than replacing jobs or hiring specifically for analytical digital skills in AI.
The most tangible effect of AI's rise can be seen in Singapore's thriving data centre sector. The computational demands of large language models and AI applications have catalysed significant growth in this space, creating a ripple effect across the technology ecosystem.
Singapore continues to cement its position as a strategic hub for data centre operations and regional headquarters, despite its land scarcity challenges. Companies are establishing physical data centre facilities in Johor Bahru to leverage more abundant space and access to talent, while maintaining their commercial presence and sales operations in Singapore.
This expansion in the data centre industry is generating fresh opportunities in sales and marketing, particularly for professionals who can navigate complex B2B relationships and articulate technical value propositions to an expanding target audience pool. The sector's growth trajectory suggests sustained demand for these roles through 2025.
fintech sector drives demand for specialised marketing talent
Singapore's fintech ecosystem continues to expand and mature, with new players like Chocolate Finance entering the market alongside established digital banks such as GXS Bank and MariBank. This heightened competition is creating robust demand for marketing professionals, particularly those who excel in product marketing and customer acquisition strategies.
The payments landscape is experiencing significant regional integration, with PayNow's cross-border capabilities now extending to Thailand and Indonesia. This development, coupled with HSBC's projection of a $1.5 trillion Southeast Asian digital payments market by 2030, reinforces Singapore's position as the region's financial hub. Companies in this space are actively seeking talent with strong user acquisition and customer relationship management expertise to capture this growing market opportunity.
We're also seeing renewed activity in the cryptocurrency sector, with firms leveraging Singapore as their launchpad for regional expansion. However, there's a notable pivot in marketing strategy, with companies increasingly focusing on high-net-worth individuals and accredited investors rather than retail customers. This shift is creating specific demand for marketing professionals who understand both the complexities of digital assets and the nuances of engaging accredited investors.
The evolution of these fintech subsectors suggests continued strong demand for marketing talent through 2025, particularly for those who can demonstrate specialised expertise in these emerging areas.
retail sees shifting focus
The retail sector in Singapore has a mixed forecast for 2025. Sales in the luxury segment remain below their 2019 levels primarily due to lower consumer spending in Singapore. Luxury brands are adopting a conservative approach to workforce planning, focusing primarily on replacement hiring rather than team expansion.
In contrast, lifestyle brands are demonstrating robust growth, creating increased opportunities for sales and marketing professionals.
However, marketing professionals seeking to transition from luxury to lifestyle brands face unique challenges. The shift requires adapting to fundamentally different marketing approaches and consumer engagement strategies, making the transition more complex than many anticipate.
The e-commerce sector remains dynamic despite recent restructuring announcements from major players. While digital marketing and e-commerce skills continue to be highly sought after, we're seeing evolving organisational structures as companies reassess their regional presence. Some are exploring cost optimisation through relocating regional operations, while others are moving towards market-specific team structures.
deep expertise trumps broad skills in marketing roles
The marketing recruitment landscape is shifting decisively toward specialisation. Companies are breaking down traditional generalist marketing roles into focused positions, with dedicated specialists for areas like social media marketing and influencer management, separate from those handling search engine optimisation (SEO) and content creation.
This evolution marks a clear shift in hiring preferences. While opportunities for generalist marketers are decreasing, demand is strong for specialists who can demonstrate deep expertise in specific disciplines.
At the same time, we're seeing increased emphasis on immediate revenue generation over long-term brand building. Marketing professionals who can show measurable impact on sales and revenue through effective funnel management are particularly sought after in this environment.
We see particular demand for the following roles and skill sets:
- Revenue generation and enterprise sales
- Digital marketing
- Product marketing
- Customer relationship management (CRM)
- Data analytics
We expect talent switching roles to expect salary increases in the range of 5% to 15%, though it could be higher for more specialist roles.
download singapore’s 2025 sales and marketing job market outlook and salary guide report
From traditional marketing to specialised areas in customer acquisition, product marketing and CRM, learn about employers' hiring expectations and salary ranges across sales and marketing roles and other key industries in Singapore in our 2025 Job Market Outlook and Salary Guide Report.
The report examines key talent expectations as well as current industry trends and salary benchmarks in the following industries:
- Accounting and finance
- Banking and financial services
- Human resources
- Insurance
- Legal
- Manufacturing
- Supply chain
- Technology
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