by Ryan Ong
THERE was a recent Straits Times report on an expat couple who spend an average of $2,400 a month on grocery bills. Well, I say the interesting bit is not how expensive Singapore is – we know that. The interesting part is how their groceries, even for the whole family, could cost that much. Are we talking caviar for breakfast or something? Here’s a quick guide about where you can get affordable deals online.
This is not an advertorial
This is not a paid endorsement. The grocery sites involved are totally unaware that I’m going to write this. So I’m not going to get a few thousand dollars for promoting one online grocer over another, because I wasn’t smart enough to think of that first.
I wanted to compare the prices of all the items on the sites, but the editor said “at the same time Game of Thrones concludes” is not a valid deadline. So instead, this is the basket of goods I used to calculate the typical cost from each site:
– Beef (300g)
– Salmon (300g)
– Chicken breast (300g)
– Kai lan (300g)
– Rice (per kilogram; if rice is not available as an option, I use the next closest alternative to a staple food, like noodles or bread)
Obviously, this basket shouldn’t be taken as an absolutely accurate representation of prices. For example, there is a wide difference in quality between types of rice. Prices for salmon are also wildly different, based on whether they are farmed, fresh, frozen, etc. What you’re seeing is a crude approximation, and the cost of your specific basket may be very different.
Because not everything is conveniently sold in 300g packs, I sometimes work out the cost per gram, and then figure out how much 300g will cost. I try to take a mid-range product and not the most expensive brand listed.
1. GoFresh
This is site was founded by the famous Christopher and Karl Chong, who were behind the site that eventually became Groupon Singapore. GoFresh sources their own products – they partner directly with producers, so (assuming it’s all true) you won’t get meat or fish that’s been through a processing plant run by orphans in a third world country.
The basket of goods:
US prime ribeye: approximately $32.85
Wild salmon: approximately $28.08
Chicken breast: approximately $6.06
Kai lan: approximately $3.50
There’s no rice or bread or noodles on this site, so I replaced it with a kilogram (kg) of Russet Burbank potatoes: $3.90
Total cost of the basket: $70.49
(If that seems pricey, remember these are sourced directly from the producers. See above, about your food not coming from a cheap processing plant.)
GoFresh offers free deliveries for orders $60 and above. Otherwise, delivery cost is $15. For the above basket, the delivery would be free.
Signing up for the GoFresh newsletter gets you a one-time $10 voucher.
GoFresh also has a regularly updated deals column, where they will list items that are currently retailing for less than in supermarkets.
2. RedMart
RedMart is one of the veterans in this industry. Unlike our opposition parties, RedMart has gone from strength to strength. They have reported growth of 20 per cent per month. One interesting difference is their user generated rating system (one to five stars).
The basket of goods:
Aussie beef tenderloin: approximately $17.62
Wood roasted salmon: approximately $25.42
Chicken breast: approximately $6.72
Kai-lan: approximately $5.30
Royal Umbrella rice: approximately $4.30 per kg
Total cost of the basket: $59.36
First time customers get free deliveries for orders above $30. Returning customers get free deliveries for orders above $49. Otherwise, there is a flat rate of $7 for all deliveries, which makes RedMart the cheapest option for small orders.
First time customers get a 10 per cent discount voucher. There’s also a constantly updated page for items on promotion.
3. Giant Online
If you’re an American expat, you can think of Giant as WalMart. If you’re Singaporean, I don’t have to introduce Giant. It’s a huge supermarket that caters to the budget conscious (i.e. everyone with a mortgage in this city).
The basket of goods:
Argyle beef sirloin: approximately $10.47
Tasmanian salmon fillet: approximately $8.07
Fresh boneless chicken breast: approximately $3.21
Chinese kai lan: approximately $1.70
Double F.K. Fragrant Rice: approximately $2.50 per kg
Total cost of the the basket: $25.95
Giant is the second cheapest on this list.
For orders below $60, delivery charge is $12. For orders $60 and above, delivery charge is $7.
4. Cold Storage
Cold Storage is the grand-daddy of supermarkets. They’ve been here since 1903. And for the longest time, Cold Storage was the only way to eat ice cream without a 70 per cent chance of spending next week on a toilet bowl (ask your grandparents about the dangers of dirty ice cream in the ’50s).
The basket of goods:
Australian beef fillet: approximately $11.97
Norwegian salmon fillet: approximately $12.87
You won’t believe this, but Cold Storage has no chicken breasts. You have to buy the whole chicken, or the wings, or the thighs. The closest I could find is something called Southern Fried chicken breast slices: $10.25
Chinese Kai-lan: $2.45
Jasmine rice: approximately $1.56 per kg
Total cost of the basket: $39.10
I’ll add one other thing that may tilt the odds: you know how credit cards always have reward points or cashback and such? Well more of them work with Cold Storage than any other supermarket, because Cold Storage is one of the country’s market leaders. Check if your card has some kind of related bonus.
Cold Storage has a constantly updated promotions page for discount hunters.
Delivery charges are similar to Giant, since Giant is owned by the same parent company ($7 for orders $60 and above, $12 for orders under $60).
5. NTUC Fairprice
This is a co-op of the National Trade Union Council (NTUC) and the largest supermarket chain in Singapore. Their slogan is “Singapore’s very own” and they originally opened in 1973 to help the average Singaporean cope with the rising cost of living. In fact, the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew opened the first NTUC supermarket.
The basket of goods:
There’s no beef fillet, so I’ll use Amir’s Beef cubes: approximately $4.14
Okeanos frozen salmon: $6.95
There’s no chicken breast, so all I can do is use the price for a whole, 1kg chicken: $4.60
China Hong Kong kai lan: $1.55
Royal Umbrella Fragrant rice: approximately $2.79 per kg
Total cost of the basket: $20.03
FairPrice wins the cheapest award on this list, for the basket of goods used.
For a limited time, FairPrice has a Click and Collect scheme. Deliveries are free if the order of $150 and above is charged to Plus! Visa/ NTUC Plus! Visa Credit/ Debit Card; $10.70 for orders $60 and below; $7.49 for orders above $60. Delivery charge for bulk orders – more than 600 items purchased per order – is $26.75.
Union members get their usual rebate, the amount of which is announced a year after the Annual General Meeting (this involves owning FairPrice shares). For more details regarding union membership, you should contact NTUC.
Special case: Honestbee
If you’re sick of comparing online grocers, you can take a shortcut and use Honestbee. This isn’t actually an online grocer; it’s a grocery concierge service. Honestbee dispatches people to do the shopping for you; so you can select products in NTUC, GNC, or whichever store that is within range of your postal code. Someone then runs down and gets the stuff for you.
The main upside is trained shoppers (once this article is published, I give it three days before a university starts offering a degree course in that). They will pick the items off the shelf for you, so the chances of getting something cracked or leaking is at a minimum. Being actual humans, they can also get back to you on potential replacements if something is out.
For a limited time, customers get $10 off the first order, with a minimum of $60 spent. There are also periodic promotions, so check their site for updates. Deliveries are free if the order is $30 or above, and $10 otherwise.
The downside to Honestbee is that you’re restricted to the stores in your vicinity and to participating retailers.
Overall, NTUC FairPrice seems to have the cheapest options product-wise (although free delivery is harder to qualify for). But again, remember that the price to you will vary based on what exactly you buy – try using the various sites via the shopping cart options and compare the prices.
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Featured Image by Sean Chong.
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