5 Tips and Tricks of Wily Singaporean Shoppers

Published 03 February 2023 at 21:06

Tickikids Blog Singapore >  Childhood reading >  5 Tips and Tricks of Wily Singaporean Shoppers

While Singaporeans may take it for granted, their everyday shopping experience is pretty awesome by world standards. All things considered, prices for a lot of goods are pretty affordable in the city-state, especially when comparing prices in other SEA countries. It’s no wonder then that virtually all the tourists and business travellers to Singapore will make time in their itinerary to do some shopping, as the local retail and ecommerce experiences are hard to beat by most benchmarks.

Of course, locals do have a leg up over everyone else when it comes to getting the best deals in SG. Follow the time-tested tips and guidelines below to stretch your shopping budget and bag truly amazing finds for less than the usual market prices.

1) Look Up Different Rewards Programmes

The past few years have seen local Singaporean businesses ramp up the rewards programme arms race, with most simplifying entry and offering some serious discounts and freebies. Taking the time to research which programmes offer the best returns can help you save big and even give you access to deals that are simply unavailable to regular shoppers.

THE Jewel Double Rewards programme, for example, is getting a lot of attention among local shopaholics, thanks to the easy entry process and the long list of perks. To get an amazing array of discounts, all you have to do is to get a ChangiPay digital wallet and use it at Changi Airport, the Jewel Changi entertainment complex, and the iShopChangi e-commerce site. Notably, if you are a member of Changi Rewards or CapitaStar programme, you can earn Changi Rewards points or STAR$ respectively when you shop and dine at any participating outlets in Jewel Changi Airport. And if you are a member of both programmes, you can link your Changi Rewards and CapitaStars accounts to earn double Changi Rewards points and STAR$ in a single transaction.

2) Follow Haggling Etiquette

You probably have a grandma or an auntie who loves to haggle, even in places where they really shouldn’t. For better or worse, haggling has indeed gone by the wayside in modern Singapore, with most shops even completely disallowing the practice. However, it’s not completely gone yet. If you have the gift of the gab or have particularly thick skin, there are still quite a few places in SG where haggling is accepted or, at least, tolerated.

First off, you should probably avoid haggling if you only want one item or if the item you want has a price tag. You’ll have much better success if there are no price tags and if you’re committed to purchasing multiple items from the same vendor. Also, if you’re in an older shopping district like Chinatown or Little India, many of the older ways of haggling still apply, so definitely feel freer to press your luck if you’re in the neighbourhood. You might also put the odds a bit more in your favour by offering to pay in cash.

3) Be Ready to Commit to a Good Deal

While cash does open up more possibilities, you don’t always need to have a lot of it on you. With some notable exceptions, almost every business in SG accepts cashless payments. This makes it relatively easy to pounce on a good deal as soon as you spot it, even if you don’t have cash on hand. Being able to commit to good deals immediately is important because awesome deals don’t last very long in SG.

4) Create a Calendar of Upcoming Shopping Events

Create a simple spreadsheet calendar that contains different shopping events that are relevant to you. Be sure to look up local websites and different business social media pages that are targeted at local shoppers to find the start dates of different sales events.

Sales events are most often tied to different holidays and observances. Many businesses hold sales events during New Year, Lunar New Year, Ramadan, National Day, Cyber Monday, and Christmas. There are also shopping sales that are not connected to any particular holiday, such as the ever-popular Great Singapore Sale (GSS) as well as smaller sales events such as the Consumer Sale in March, and the Brands Festival Sale in May. Additionally, shopping malls and districts may hold sales to mark certain milestones. By taking note of these sales events ahead of time, you can be better prepared to take full advantage of them, later on.

5) Check Out Local Coupon Sites

Coupon sites like Shopback and Cuponation are great places to find coupons for online shopping sites as well as other local businesses. Notably, these sites occasionally offer deals that are below cost or are exclusive only to site members. If you do most of your shopping online, the deals on these sites can go a long way in helping you get more out of a limited budget. Coupon sites normally release new offers in time with real-world shopping events so make sure to refer to your calendar to gather coupons efficiently.

While there are multiple competing philosophies on how best to get awesome bargains in SG, following the tips and tricks above should help you get a solid start. Regardless of whether you’re looking for vintage clothes, spices, camera lenses, knick-knacks, mechanical watches, kitchenware, electronics, fashion items, or anything else, these tried and true tips should help you get the most out of your next shopping spree.