when i first read about the assignment it didn't quite appeal to me. FAVOURITE STORE? SHOPPING? personally i don't enjoy shopping - i feel it's pointless, especially window shopping and walking around aimlessly without any purpose in mind. i only shop when necessary and when i know what i have to get. besides, if i really do shop, what matters more to me would be the item that i like and would be purchasing, rather than enjoying the store environment itself. but i guess now it's time for me to go prowl around and be a street-watcher for a moment...
perhaps the most shopping that i do have to be grocery shopping. because it is necessary, because it is fun choosing what meals you want for the week, because it's just interesting discovering new food items on shelves and looking at the different types of fruits and vegetables. :) and the supermarket i patronise most would have to be ntuc fairprice.
i love the wide variety of food stuff and dry goods that fairprice has. be it for planning home cooked meals, easy-to-prepare take out meals, or for planning parties and barbecues, fairprice has so far been able to provide my family's and my needs. somedays at school or at work i'll also drop by fairprice to purchase snacks and drinks. i love how the branch at bishan has a wider variety of organic food and juices too.
the layout of fairprice supermarkets are generally similar at every branch. they've neatly organised shelves and categories that make looking for particular items easy. i must admit they arent' very creative with their decor and ambience creation, but it works well for easy navigation and a no-frills shopping experience. somehow i like the cleanliness and neatness of their layout. sometimes during festivals (christmas, cny, hari raya, deepavali) they do put up some simple decorations and play some festive songs to create the festive mood, but i wonder if any patrons do appreciate it... at least not myself =p i just need a peaceful, neat and easily penetrable (wide spaces to walk even if it gets crowded) environment at supermarkets to enjoy my shopping.
patrons of fairprice include people from all walks of life: homemakers, maids, grandparents, office workers, students and children tagging along their parents. i suppose the people there share the same purpose with me - that is to stock up on food stuff and home/office necessities. it's always interesting to watch the people around: homemakers and grandparents carefully choosing the best vegetables, fruits and meat without any blemishes and faults; office workers quickly grabbing stuff to go or buying bread back home; students looking for snacks and drinks; and maids chatting with other maids while selecting what to buy.
fairprice is everywhere! that makes it the most convenient supermart around for grocery shopping. they're situated mainly in close proximity to housing estates so that's a plus point for them in attracting patrons, above their competitors like cold storage, giant and carrefour whose stores are not as widespread across singapore as compared to fairprice. even though cold storage has nice music and a really peaceful environment, giant has really good deals, and carrefour has a wide array of european foodstuff and biscuits, i do not patronise them a lot unless i happen to be near them when i'm out and it is convenient to pop by.
if possible, i'd appreciate if fairprice could actually do some research into every housing estate and look into whether the estate has convenience stores around for the residents to have their needs met. because from what i've heard some estates do not have any supermarkets in close proximity and it's rather inconvenient for the residents to get their weekly grocery supplies.
-chinyee-
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To be very, very honest, I am not someone who really enjoys shopping as well. I still remember when I was your age, my female friends were very nice to drag me to all the departmental stores to "teach me" how to shop. I guess they offered to do so, because they felt that I didn't have good taste.
The truth unfortunately is that shopping is really a part of life. A part that all of us can't run away from. We all have to live on food and hence, shopping for food is an essential part of living.
I would like all of you to think about this especially when you do your home visits and visit the cases which we provide social assistance to. I want you guys to find out, how these families get their shopping down. This part of the research that Chin Yee has suggested that NTUC does, but really I think this is something that all of us can do.
I would like you all to think of this, because very often, we take these things for granted. You probably take for granted the fact the fridge at home as continually well stocked. I am not quite sure how many of you help out with shopping for groceries.
I remembered when I was on an overseas expedition helping poor families in Mexico. When of the task was to go to the market and buy one week supply of groceries for various families in need. The experience really help us realise the cost as well as the difficulty required to purchase groceries.
This is an additional question I would like to think about. How does the shopping experience at NTUC compare to those at wet markets? I hope that you also visit wet markets. Why do wet markets exist when NTUC (according to you) do such a good job. Will wet markets disappear?
well i sometimes follow my mom and dad along for grocery shopping on weekends as a break from studying. then after the A levels during my holidays the family grocery shopping trips became more frequent.
indeed the cost of grocery supplies for a family is high. my family does grocery shopping on a weekend and my mom also supplements the groceries on another weekday, so i guess our spendings on foodstuffs and household necessities amount to almost $200 - $250 a week, if we can spend $60 - $100 each time we grocery-shop.
my mom still visits wet markets occasionally to buy fish and vegetables, but she claims the prices are now higher as compared to supermarkets. but i guess that's probably business has been not very good for the market stallowners owing to the fact that more modern families tend to visit supermarkets rather than to wet markets.
i still remember when i was in kindergarten i still tagged along my mom to the wet market to buy groceries. that was before any NTUC opened in my neighbourhood's vicinity. besides the wet slippery floor and the fishy + spices smell in the air at the market, i actually was interested in exploring the market and weaving through the walkways to get an idea of the layout. there're always the dry goods + apparel lane, the meat lane, the fish lane, the egg stalls area, and the pet shops area where ornamental fish and frogs were placed in tanks for passers-by like me to observe.
i have a feeling wet markets may dwindle, but it will not completely disappear as preserving it is an important part to preserve singapore's heritage as wet markets has always been part of our lifestyles.
As someone who doesnt go grocery-shopping very often, i'm not at a very good position to comment on the relative competitiveness of the the different supermarts. Convenience and accessibility are the only things i would be concerned with. However, NTUC fairprice always gives me the impression that its prices are lower, even though i havent gotten down to really proving it!Maybe it's just the name 'fairprice' that makes one think so...
i think one of the reasons why NTUC is so successful is because of their linkpoints system that allows regular costumers to exchange points earned for free gifts - very attractive to the housewives doing their grocery shopping, and it promotes customer loyalty
NTUC has certainly done a good job in imposing its presence in Singaporeans' daily lives- economical and convenient, it is the supermarket that many turn to. convenience is the key factor in which supermarket customers choose. that's why different chains of supermarkets can thrive--they plant themselves where one is most needed and cater to the people in that area.
wet markets won't die just yet- i have this impression, and it is probably true, that you get fresher stuff from the wet market. and many people get to know the stallholders in the wet market-- customer loyalty ensured by bonds formed within the wet market community!
NTUC used to be okay. However, I do see a recent effort being put in to catch up. However, I seldom go to supermarkets, so I think I may not be able to give a very good comment. Just one thing that deters me is the queue.
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