With inflation showing no signs of easing any time soon, households may have little choice but to cut back to try and meet surging living costs.
Singapore’s core inflation rate hit 2.1 percent last December, up from 1.6 percent in November. Many view the rapid increase in the cost of living as a threat to their financial future and stressing over making difficult decisions on how to spend their money and looking at ways to make their dollars go further.
The key to stretching your money is not just about how you are spending but also where you shop. Thus, the announcement by the FairPrice group could not have happened at a better time.
On Feb 14, 2022, FairPrice Group launched “Stretch Your Dollar”, a holistic program to moderate the cost of living that comprises special discounts, efforts to hold prices of essentials, as well as tips to help consumers save more.
Some of the special discount initiatives are:
- New 5% Discount Fridays on a basket of 100 key essential items at all FairPrice supermarkets and hypermarkets starting from Mar 4, 2022, till the end of the year
- Reducing and holding prices of hot low sugar / no sugar coffee and tea at Kopitiam and Foodfare at 90 cents for the year
- Holding the prices of breakfast sets and expansion of Rice Garden budget meal program
This program was first introduced in 2007, during the financial crisis, and brought back in 2010 during the economic downturn.
According to Mr. Seah Kian Peng, Group CEO, FairPrice Group, this program aims to help consumers cope with the rising cost of living amid the Covid-19 pandemic and inflationary factors such as logistic logjam and higher oil price.
A program to provide free meals for the needy and a budget meal initiative at its Kopitiam and Foodfare outlets will also be implemented in the second half of this year.
Mr. Seah added, “As an organization that offers both groceries to help families prepare meals and items for their household needs, as well as cooked food options, we are committed to our social mission to help moderate cost. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and explore ways to make lives better for all.”
Existing discount schemes at FairPrice supermarkets and hypermarkets for the Pioneer Generation, Merdeka Generation, seniors, and Community Health Assist Scheme (Chas) Blue cardholders between Monday and Thursday will remain. FairPrice will also be highlighting various existing discount schemes to remind customers to leverage these for more savings.
These include:
- “4 Days Special” where two essential items are on a 50 percent discount over four days every week
- FairPrice house brand items which are priced 10 to 15 percent cheaper than national brands
- Members patronage rebates (declared at 4.5 percent last year)
For more than 60 years, NTUC’s focus has always been on workers, especially the vulnerable workers – protecting and advancing their interests, uplifting their lives, and in turn, strengthening the social compact.
In his media sharing on Feb 7, 2022, NTUC’s Secretary-General said, “NTUC has always been helping Singaporeans, especially when cost pressures are felt. FairPrice Group has done so for so many years. We will, in 2022, look at possibilities and measures to mitigate increases of actual business costs that are impacting society, and we will do our best to mitigate them.”