With the impending completion of the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link by 2026, local retailers might need to step up their game.

According to DBS insights published Jul. 11, the link could cut transport time to as low as 15 minutes, potentially causing "spending leakage" — in other words, local retailers losing business to the JB side.

With F&B retailers up to 50 per cent cheaper on the Malaysia side, this "leakage" could be as high as S$2.1 billion, or 4 per cent of retail spend here last year.

This would be greatest in the F&B and service trades, with less impact expected on the supermarket industry, DBS estimated.

Value gap

However, the extent of this leakage would depend on Singapore and JB maintaining the existing "value gap" between the two cities.

In other words, this is all contingent on the continued price differences in goods and services between Singapore and JB.

It's also not all bad news. Causeway Point, for instance, would receive higher traffic due to its proximity to Woodlands North, where the Singapore station is located.

As such, it could dial up its tenant and product mix, leveraging on this increased traffic, DBS said.

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Top image from LTA's website