With Chinese New Year just around the corner, many are rushing to stock up on goodies.
Over the weekend, many NTUC FairPrice outlets around Singapore saw long queues with some customers waiting up to 45 minutes in line.
On Saturday (14 Jan), Clara Chua, who goes by the handle explodingbelly, shared a video on TikTok of the crowds at NEX FairPrice Xtra, likening it to a “zombie apocalypse”.
The huge crowds over the weekend could also be because Sunday (15 Jan) was the last day for customers to get a S$6 return voucher when they redeem their CDC vouchers at FairPrice.
According to an MS News reader, as early as last Sunday (8 Jan), there were large crowds at NEX FairPrice Xtra.
Every counter had long lines with the self-checkout queue stretching all the way to the ready-to-eat section of the store.
When TikToker Ms Chua visited the NEX FairPrice on Saturday (14 Jan) at 10.30pm, she thought it was late enough to avoid the crowd.
However, she encountered long lines across all the cashier counters.
Source: @explodingbelly on TikTok
In her caption, Ms Chua said she was never going to supermarkets when it was close to Chinese New Year again.
However, she went on to add that the discounts on offer were enticing with whole cartons of drinks selling at only S$4.80.
Speaking to MS News, Ms Chua said there were so many people that she couldn’t even walk through the store.
Some waited in line for 30 minutes just to get a loaf of bread.
In the end, Ms Chua went to another nearby FairPrice outlet at Serangoon Central.
But the situation there was not much better, said Ms Chua, who waited between 30 and 40 minutes in the queue.
And it seems the situation was not isolated to Serangoon. In the comments section of Ms Chua’s video, one person shared that they went to Ang Mo Kio Hub’s FairPrice Xtra and had to queue for 45 minutes.
Source: @explodingbelly on TikTok
Over at Toa Payoh HDB Hub’s FairPrice, long lines were also spotted over the weekend.
Source: Shin Min Daily News on Facebook
The FairPrice outlets over at Boon Lay and Tampines also saw similar situations, reported Shin Min Daily News.
Although crowds are a common sight at grocery stores near the Lunar New Year period, the situation was exacerbated by the S$150 CDC vouchers Singaporeans can redeem at five supermarket chains.
FairPrice especially saw more customers over the weekend as they were offering a S$6 return voucher when customers spend at least S$55 worth of CDC vouchers there. The last day of the offer was Sunday (14 Jan).
Speaking to Shin Min Daily News, 46-year-old Mdm Tan said she had visited a FairPrice outlet at Ang Mo Kio for the past two days to get Chinese New Year goodies.
Although the queues were long, she felt it was all worth it for the return voucher.
And it seems many felt the same. 47-year-old Mdm Lin shared that she had specially made the trip down to Toa Payoh’s FairPrice on the last day of the offer to get the return voucher.
Others also commented that they have chosen to shop at FairPrice instead of their usual marketplaces as it was more value-for-money.
This is especially because CDC vouchers can be used there.
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Featured image courtesy of an MS News reader and Shin Min Daily News on Facebook.
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