SINGAPORE: Nearly 80 per cent of business owners have vacated the second floor of Bugis Street, leaving much of the level quiet and sparsely populated.
Tenants who remain say revenue has dropped by about 60 per cent as foot traffic continues to fall.
Photos and videos circulating online show shuttered shopfronts and rows of empty units.
The posts have fuelled public discussion about whether rising operating costs, high rents and changing consumer behaviour have driven tenants away.
On 7 April 2026, a netizen shared photos of the near-empty floor, expressing surprise at the rapid change.
The user wrote in Chinese that many shops were still operating at the end of March, but by April, a significant number had closed.
Another online video showed rows of shuttered shops, with the poster questioning whether rent pressures had forced tenants out. The posts quickly circulated, prompting wider public debate.
Most units on second floor now shuttered
A visit by a Singapore Chinese-language newspaper Shin Min Daily News found that the first and third floors still have a steady number of clothing shops and nail salons with moderate customer flow.
In contrast, nearly 80 per cent of units on the second floor were closed, with metal shutters pulled down and few shoppers visible.
Shop assistants at the remaining stores sat at their entrances waiting for customers.
