NTUC Fairprice Co-operative Ltd moderates the cost of living to help the community

The company was honoured with the Supermarket of the Year at the Retail Asia Awards 2022.

As the pandemic disrupted many industries and caused unemployment due to businesses shutting down, coupled with the global inflationary pressures also putting a strain on the purchasing power and finances of households, many Singaporeans faced uncertainty about the future. FairPrice undertook many efforts to help moderate the costs of living, and in doing so was awarded the Supermarket of the Year - Singapore Award at the Retail Asia Awards 2022. 

The awards programme recognises significant breakthroughs, innovations, and key players in the retail industry of Asia, and FairPrice’s efforts to step up and fulfil its social mission with a multi-pronged strategy to ensure the best prices and great value on essential goods for everyone set them apart from their competitors. 

To manage the cost of living, FairPrice regularly monitored over 700 most commonly purchased items and aimed to offer the best prices in Singapore, and to further help customers get the most value out of their money, the Link loyalty programme allowed shoppers to earn LinkPoints and redeem the points to purchase groceries. In order to cater to different income segments, FairPrice diversified its range of products, adding products such as those of FairPrice housebrand and Smart Choice, whose prices are 10-20% lower than national brands with comparable quality. 

Relaunching the “Stretch Your Dollar” programme brought in 5% Discounts on Fridays through the end of the year on 100 key essential items favoured by lower-income households, complementing 4 other existing discount schemes for Pioneer Generation, Merdeka Generation, Seniors Discount and CHAS Blue cardholders with the aim to provide more support for seniors and low-income families to reduce their monthly grocery bills. All four discount schemes helped eligible customers save over S$10m in 2021. 

In addition to that, FairPrice On Wheels, a mobile truck which brings essential groceries to communities, was launched to cater to low-income seniors during the COVID pandemic. 

With Antigen Rapid Test (ART) kits becoming a household essential, FairPrice worked closely with suppliers and the authorities to ensure a variety of kit brands were made more affordable to its customers, providing the best possible options for shoppers as FairPrice was the first retailer to bring in the Flow Flex ART kit into Singapore, a new-to-market, and cheapest self-test kit that retails for $4.90 - well below the prices of other ART kits in the market at that time. 

All of these also translated into an increase in transactions amongst lower-income groups with more affordable FairPrice products, with the company seeing more low-income bracket customers and senior members (aged 60+) purchasing more key essential items. FairPrice aims to help Singaporeans lead better lives, making sure they leave no one behind. FairPrice FreshMart concept store in Ang Mo Kio aims to serve customers with more fresh options at affordable prices to moderate the cost of living. About 80 per cent of the product mix is made up of fresh fruits and vegetables, along with a variety of frozen products. Customers also have the choice of buying them in loose quantities.

The 17th Retail Asia Awards is presented by Retail Asia. To view the full list of winners, click here. If you want to join the 2023 awards programme and be acclaimed for your company's outstanding retail initiatives, please contact Jane Patiag at [email protected].