SINGAPORE: Major supermarkets in Singapore will soon display unit prices for some common grocery items such as rice, meat, eggs, cooking oils, fruits and vegetables.
The pilot will be rolled out at selected outlets run by major supermarket operators NTUC FairPrice, Cold Storage, Giant, Sheng Siong and Prime.
This means that in addition to the price of the product, customers will be able to see the unit price, such as the price per litre or per kilogram.
“This will provide consumers with relative price information to guide their purchasing decisions,” said Trade and Industry Minister Gan Kim Yong on Saturday (Mar 15) as he announced the pilot scheme at the Consumer Association of Singapore’s (CASE) partners’ appreciation dinner.
CASE, along with the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS), will work with major supermarket operators on the pilot scheme.
CCCS will also conduct a market survey to gather feedback from consumers about the display and benefits of unit prices.
“This will inform our guidelines on unit pricing, as well as our plans to roll out unit pricing more widely at a later stage,” said Mr Gan, who is also deputy prime minister.
“We hope that the use of unit pricing will improve price transparency, help consumers make choices to stretch their dollar, and deter retailers from pricing gimmicks.”
He noted that CASE’s Price Kaki app introduced unit pricing two years ago on more than 1,200 grocery products. This has since grown to over 6,000 items, including groceries and household items.
“By displaying the price per unit of measurement of a product, consumers will be able to compare the prices of products across different brands and package sizes more easily,” said Mr Gan.
The app has been downloaded more than 170,000 times.
CASE president Melvin Yong, who has called for mandatory unit pricing, said it would help customers “see through pricing gimmicks quickly and easily”.
“It is also a useful tool to address shrinkflation,” he added.
