Sheng Siong offering 1% discount for the first 3 months of 2024 'to alleviate effects of rising prices on customers'

SINGAPORE - Supermarket chain Sheng Siong will offer a 1 per cent discount on purchases from January to March 2024.

The discount, Sheng Siong said on Friday (Dec 15), is "to alleviate the effects of rising prices on customers".

The discount, however, will exclude infant formula (Stages 1 and 2), tobacco, alcohol and medicinal products and devices, as well as the disposable carrier bag charge, phone cards and Sheng Siong vouchers.

On Jan 1, 2024, the goods and services tax (GST) rate will go up from 8 per cent to 9 per cent, the second of a two-stage rate hike that started on Jan 1, 2023.

Additionally, Sheng Siong said it will extend its 4 per cent discount for senior citizens on Tuesdays and Wednesdays till the end of 2024.

Singaporeans and permanent residents aged 60 and above enjoy this discount, which was introduced in 2015, limited to a spend of $200 per receipt. The discount was increased to 4 per cent from 3 per cent in July 2022.

Family members purchasing groceries on behalf of seniors are also eligible for the discount if they present the seniors' identity cards, an arrangement which started during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Sheng Siong said the discount is expected to save seniors around $4 million in 2023.

On Nov 27, FairPrice Group said it will absorb the upcoming 1 percentage point increase in GST on 500 essential items, including rice, fresh fruit and vegetables and toilet paper, for the first half of 2024.

This, it said, was part of a move to "assist Singaporeans during these times of stubborn inflation resulting in an unprecedented rise in the cost of living".

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.

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