The store incorporates principles of universal design to enable seniors and persons with disabilities to better shop for groceries
Staff at the store undergo special training to serve elderly customers better
SINGAPORE, 2 December 2015 – NTUC FairPrice (FairPrice) today officially launched its first Enabled Store, designed to meet the needs of Singapore’s rapidly ageing population and support persons with disabilities to live actively and independently. The store is located within the Enabling Village, an integrated community space for people with disabilities, which was also officially launched today.
Mr Seah Kian Peng, CEO of NTUC FairPrice, said, “FairPrice constantly evolves to meet the changing needs of Singapore’s population. We support seniors and persons with disabilities in living high-quality and independent lives, and recognise their needs amidst a backdrop of a rapidly ageing population. This is part of our efforts in striving to be a retailer with a heart and staying true to our social mission of serving various segments of the community through innovative retail formats and offerings.”
Store Features
With the number of seniors in Singapore expected to grow to more than 900,000 in 2030, and with more than 77,200 with disabilities above the age of 18, the store seeks to make shopping more seamless for these segments of society. It incorporates the principles of universal design with special features and products to enhance in-store experience. Physical characteristics of the store include call buttons located at the entrance and along store aisles to offer assistance, magnifying glasses at every aisle to help customers read product labels, and merchandise shelves customised to ideal heights for easy reach. The store also offers a more extensive range of supplements, products with the Healthier Choice Symbol (HCS) and assistive products such as walking aids.
Specialised Training for Staff
Staff at the store have also undergone a specially developed training programme, jointly developed by NTUC LearningHub, Centre for Seniors and the Dr Oon Chiew Seng Trust, to equip them with the necessary skills and knowledge to serve senior customers better. The training programme aims to help service staff understand and anticipate the needs of senior customers, recognise senior related ailments such as dementia, as well as empathise with the difficulties that seniors may encounter so they can communicate and respond better to their needs. FairPrice is the first organisation to send employees for the course, training 100 frontline staff to date. Over 500 FairPrice frontline staff will also undergo this training programme in the next 2 years.
Bringing value to customers
Existing initiatives to help FairPrice customers stretch their dollar will also be available at this store including the Big Value Bag programme which offers a 10% discount on over 1,000 FairPrice house brand products; FairPrice housebrand products are already priced 10-15% lower than other popular brands. Other initiatives include the Everyday Low Prices basket of popular national brand products that are priced checked regularly to offer the best value, and Yellow Dot products that are lowest priced in their respective categories.
The Enabled Store is located at 20 Lengkok Bahru, #01-13 and opens daily from 8am to 9pm.
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