When FairPrice saw how quickly consumers were taking to online grocery stores, it decided to conquer this new terrain. The chain made its first foray into this sector with the introduction of its e-commerce arm in 2002, and launched the FairPrice mobile app in 2018.

Both the app and the online marketplace – which provide a wide range of goods from health and wellness products to electrical appliances to fruits and vegetables – were a lifeline for customers when COVID-19 hit. Unable to leave their homes during the pandemic, Singaporeans turned to online shopping to purchase essential items. As a result, the web traffic of FairPrice online almost tripled. To manage this sudden spike, 150 additional workers were hired and trained for picking and packing, and home delivery slots were bumped up by 25 per cent.

The FairPrice mobile app, revamped in 2021, has become a one-stop solution for all grocery needs. It combines grocery shopping, delivery, food services, a rewards system and more into a seamless omnichannel experience.

Fresh groceries can be ordered via the app, with home delivery arriving within two hours. The app includes innovative features like Scan & Go, expenditure tracking, recipe recommendations and Linkpoints, which are earned through purchases and can be redeemed for discounts.

Food services are also integrated into the app – users can get up to 10 per cent off at Kopitiam, for instance, and even redeem their Linkpoints to offset their Kopitiam purchases.

Thanks to these digital innovations, FairPrice has managed to stay on top of the game while offering shoppers convenience that’s hard to beat.

Since its humble beginnings in a corner of Toa Payoh, NTUC FairPrice has become the quintessential Singaporean supermarket. The leap from a single store to a grocery giant is a tale of retail reinvention – a half-century journey that saw the cooperative confront crises and challenges, revamps and even robbers.

As it expanded and evolved, FairPrice never wavered from its core mission: to moderate the cost of living for consumers. It Takes a Great Deal - A Catalogue of FairPrice Group Stories encapsulates the birth of the consumer cooperative in 1973 and its transformation into a $4 billion food enterprise that is now called FairPrice Group.

Through 50 remarkable stories, we celebrate the people, products and places that mark significant milestones for the food retailer over the last five decades, charting its growth and successes in the past, present and into the future.