FairPrice to give 1 per cent discount for 500 items in first half of 2023 to offset GST hike

SINGAPORE - FairPrice will offer a 1 per cent discount for 500 commonly bought items for the first half of 2023 in all its physical stores as well as on its online platform.

The discounted items consist of both house brand and non-house brand products and include rice, oil, meat and household cleaners.

The discount will allay concerns about rising costs of living, said FairPrice, adding that it is meant to offset

the goods and services tax (GST) increase

from 7 per cent to 8 per cent starting on Jan 1, 2023. The GST will rise by another percentage point to 9 per cent from Jan 1, 2024.

FairPrice Group chief executive Vipul Chawla, who announced the initiative on Friday at FairPrice Xtra at VivoCity, said: “We are mindful that we live in a time when there’s an unprecedented level of inflation and our customers are feeling that inflation through their daily life.”

This announcement comes after a slew of initiatives rolled out by FairPrice recently.

In October, FairPrice

launched an initiative called Greater Value Every Day,

where prices of 50 essential items, out of a pool of 500, will be frozen each month to help consumers cope with the rising cost of living.

That same month, it also

lowered prices of three rice products

despite cost pressures as rice-producing countries experienced lower harvest due to climate change.

To protect consumers from price fluctuations, FairPrice also sources its food products from more than 100 countries to avoid over-reliance on a source.

When told about the upcoming discount, software engineer Ritesh Tonk, who was shopping for groceries, said he was looking forward to it.

“Even without the GST hike, the prices of products are already rising. But this 1 per cent discount will be able to help offset some of the increase in costs.”

The 43-year-old added: “It is better than nothing.”