Sheng Siong house brand products added to list of items for comparison on Case's Price Kaki app
Customers can now use the Price Kaki mobile app to compare prices of all Sheng Siong house brand products with other grocery items, the supermarket chain and the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) announced on Friday (July 1).
More than 800 Sheng Siong items have been added to the price comparison app by consumer watchdog Case, bringing the total number of the supermarket's house brand products on Price Kaki to more than 950 items and the total number of products listed to more than 6,200.
Case president Melvin Yong said the app is on target to list cooked food items from over 200 coffee shops in the next two months, and 10,000 grocery products by year end.
New features, such as letting users buy items directly through the app, are being developed.
During a tour of Sheng Siong's distribution centre in Mandai on Friday, he said: "I found out that the same product can have different prices in different outlets. Geo-tagging on Price Kaki allows consumers to make better purchasing decisions."
Minister of State for Trade and Industry Low Yen Ling, who was also at the facility, said that as at June 30, the Committee Against Profiteering (CAP) has received about 100 feedback submissions.
Around 70 per cent of them was about food and beverage establishments, 15 per cent about non-cooked food items and 15 per cent on miscellaneous issues. Only five cases were specific allegations about GST misrepresentation.
"Especially for this handful of cases, we followed up very swiftly... working with People's Association partners, Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) and Case," she said.
"The businesses shared that they had adjusted prices due to an increase in raw materials. They commit that, moving forward, they will be transparent with regards to pricing and be clear with the customer."
Ms Low added that all complaints were one-off cases and the Ministry of Trade and Industry works closely with CCCS to ensure no anti-competitive behaviour.
"What we want is to make sure there really is free market competition and consumers are given choices," she added.
Sheng Siong also announced that from July 5 to Dec 31 this year, Merdeka Generation seniors can enjoy a 4 per cent discount at its outlets on Tuesdays and Singapore residents aged 60 and above on Wednesdays. The discount is an increase from the 3 per cent in effect currently.
The discount is capped at $8 and within a spending limit of $200 per receipt, and does not apply to infant milk powder, cigarettes, alcohol, phone cards and Sheng Siong shopping vouchers.
Other family members of the senior citizens will also enjoy the discount if they present their seniors' proof of identity, including NRIC, Pioneer Generation or Merdeka Generation cards.
Sheng Siong expects the discount to help seniors save more than $4 million this year. It says it has helped this group save more than $12 million since the discount schemes began in 2015.
Chief executive officer Lim Hock Chee explained how the supermarket chain has managed to maintain prices despite rising inflation.
"We use digitalisation, such as automatic procurement and electronic invoicing, to reduce labour costs," he said in Mandarin, adding that self-checkout kiosks, recently installed in two outlets, will also reduce manpower.
The chain sources goods from different places to ensure reasonable prices, he said.
With Indonesia now allowed to supply chicken to Singapore, Sheng Siong will consider the cost advantage against its current sources Brazil and Denmark, said Mr Lim.
"The prices of chicken imported from Europe are competitive because they have high-tech farming methods, so importing chicken from Indonesia might not be cheaper," he explained.
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