Sheng Siong Joins GST Relief Effort, Extends Discounts on Essentials for Three Months
Yes, as we had anticipated, Sheng Siong has indeed joined the bandwagon!
It appears that the situation is evolving similarly to last year, following the same pattern.
Amidst the prevailing economic challenges, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in Singapore is poised to increase from 8% to 9% next year.
This marks a 2% rise from the previous rate of 7% in 2022.
In an effort to ease the transition towards this upcoming GST hike, NTUC FairPrice announced on 4 Nov their plans to absorb the 1% GST increase on 500 essential items.
Their approach encompasses several strategies, including:
- maintaining the GST rates for 500 key essential items,
- instituting a monthly price freeze on 50 popular daily essential products,
- offering discounts of up to 50% on “Price Drop Buy Now” items,
- providing a 10-15% discount on housebrand items.
Reflecting on last year’s scenario, when the GST increased from 7% to 8%, NTUC FairPrice had initiated the move to absorb the GST increase.
They announced that the supermarket would absorb the 1% GST hike for the first half of 2023 for 500 essential items, replicating what they have declared again this year.
Following suit in January this year, Sheng Siong jumped onto the bandwagon, offering a 1% discount on all products to alleviate the burden of the GST increase.
This discount applied to all items with the exception of alcohol, tobacco, vouchers, lottery tickets, and infant milk powder products.
It’s important to note that this deal was valid only in-store and did not extend to wholesale traders or vendors.
However, unlike NTUC, which applied their GST absorbance strategies for the entire first half of the year, Sheng Siong had limited their offer from 1 January to 31 March 2023.
Sheng Siong Follows Suit For 2024
This year, Sheng Siong is replicating their approach from the previous year.
As announced on Friday (15 Dec), a 1% discount will be applied to all products in-store with the exception of:
- Infant formula milk powder (stage 1 & stage 2)
- Tobacco
- Alcohol
- Medicinal products and devices
- Carrier plastic bags charge
- Phone cards
- Sheng Siong vouchers
Additionally, mirroring last year’s policy, the discount is not applicable to wholesale traders and vendors.
Moreover, Sheng Siong will continue its 4% discount for senior citizens until the end of 2024, applicable for up to $200 of purchase.
Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents aged 60 and above are eligible for the discount when they present their NRIC, Pioneer Generation, or Merdeka Generation cards on Tuesdays or Wednesdays.
What if you are a young person with your family member’s Pioneer Generation or Merdeka Generation card?
Well, if you are running grocery errands on behalf of the seniors of your family, you are entitled to the discount too.
Now, we are still waiting for Giant to come online and join the team.
Last year, Giant quickly followed in the footsteps of NTUC FairPrice, announcing that 1% of GST would be absorbed for not just 500, but over 700 essential items.
Similar to NTUC, this GST price absorption was applicable for six months.
With the growing popularity of its Meadows and Giant house brands, an expanded range of these more affordable products were rolled out in the stores.