Online groceries in Singapore - which has the cheapest delivery fees?

Online grocery shopping was already popular with young families and the more tech savvy crowd, but now that the Singapore government has implemented the circuit breaker — essentially a temporary “soft” lockdown — many older folks are starting to convert too.

RedMart was one of the first to offer online groceries, but now, all the big players like NTUC FairPrice, Cold Storage, Sheng Siong and even Giant have online stores too. Not forgetting, Amazon Prime Now’s famous 1-hour grocery deliveries.

If you’re struggling to pick one, here’s a comparison of the available online grocers and their delivery fees.

Online supermarkets in Singapore and their delivery fees

Most delivery fees of online supermarkets in Singapore range around $5 to $7, but if you can consolidate your orders, you will be able to get free delivery above a certain amount for all the online grocers.

Also, certain online supermarkets have a paid membership service, which lowers the bar for free delivery. RedMart has LiveUp and Amazon has PrimeNow.

Cheapest grocery delivery — Amazon PrimeNow, free for all orders

Lowest free delivery requirement — Amazon (free for all orders, but membership required) or RedMart (min. spend $40 for LiveUp members)

Still on the fence? Read more for our take on the different online grocers.

1. RedMart (via Lazada)
2. FairPrice On
3. Cold Storage Online
4. Sheng Siong Allforyou
5. Giant
6. Amazon Prime Now

Plus, scroll to the end for a list of recommended credit cards for grocery shopping!

RedMart (via Lazada)

In terms of delivery costs, RedMart’s $5.99 fee is average. You can, however, get free delivery if you spend at least $60, which shouldn’t be too difficult if you can consolidate a few weeks’ worth of orders.

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If you’re a LiveUp subscriber, the bar for free shipping is lowered to $40 instead, but subscription is pricy ($59.90 per year).

Do note that depending on demand, RedMart charges extra for popular delivery time slots… which is every time slot at the moment. Because of this, RedMart is one of the grocers you can’t really get free delivery for. Thanks circuit breaker. 

Since the government started encouraging Singaporeans to stay home, online grocers have been overwhelmed — RedMart is no exception. As such, they’ve announced a series of Covid-19 updates:

• Each customer only can make 1 order a day, with max. 35 items
• Cannot add items to orders after confirmation (previously allowed)
• Orders cannot exceed 100kg

They’ve also switched off their hotline, which may make urgent assistance tricky.

You’ll have to use the app to report any issues, such as missing and/or damaged items. From my experience — I’m personally a RedMart fan — the in-app customer service is quite efficient. (Well, it was before Covid-19 anyway.)

NTUC Fairprice Online (FairPrice On)

Good news: Singapore’s most popular supermarket also allows you to order goods online from their website, FairPrice On.

Not-so-good news: FairPrice has started charge a $3.99 service fee on all online orders (made through FairPrice On). Like RedMart, that means that even if you hit the minimum spend for free delivery, it’s won’t be really be free.

The above delivery pricing structure is actually a newly revised one. Previously, FairPrice On used to charge $7 for orders under $59. The new prices may seem cheaper ($3 to $5), but once you add the $3.99, it’s actually a lot more expensive. You’re paying $8.99, $6.99 and $3.99 respectively.

Additionally, there was a note on the site saying that you may be charged extra depending on the delivery slot you pick. I have no idea how much that could be — at the time of writing I couldn’t get a slot.

Delivery fees aside, NTUC FairPrice’s grocery prices are known to be quite competitive. They may lose to budget supermarkets like Giant and Sheng Siong, but generally, it’s quite affordable. NTUC / OCBC Plus! Visa Credit / Debit Card holders can get up to 12 per cent off Fairprice purchases.

Cold Storage Online

Cold Storage Online has one of the simplest delivery fee pricing structures:

It’s $7 for orders below $59; anything more and it’s free. They are also no hidden charges (not yet anyway), which is nice.

That said, it’s known that Cold Storage tends to charge higher prices for certain products. Cost will be a key consideration, but some people continue to shop at Cold Storage because they sell certain premium products you might not find at your regular NTUC FairPrice.

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In response to the Covid-19 situation, Cold Storage has also implemented purchase limits. In my opinion, this isn’t that big a deal… Unless you’re planning to stockpile, in which case, or bi good.

Cold Storage also has a nifty system that lets you “chope” a delivery slot when you start browsing. Once you reach the site, you’ll be prompted to pick a time slot based on your postal code.

After choosing a slot, it will be reserved for 30 minutes. You must check out before then or else it’s be released to others in the queue.

When I tried this function, I got a time slot for the weekend (6 days from now). It’s not exactly fast, but considering I couldn’t even get a slot on other platforms, I think it’s acceptable.

Sheng Siong Online (Allforyou)

Well, what do you know, Sheng Siong has also jumped on the online grocery delivery bandwagon with their Sheng Siong Allforyou website.

Sheng Siong happens to be one of Singapore’s main budget supermarkets, so you can expect prices to be quite a bit lower, especially for house brand items.

One bugbear is the fact that you only qualify for free delivery if you spend $100 or more, otherwise you have to pay a $6 delivery charge. Given the fact that most people shop at Sheng Siong to save money, this might be a deal breaker.

Another problem is that the site is a bit less search-friendly than most of the others, with products sometimes not appearing if your search term isn’t exactly what they’re looking for.

According to the website, you might qualify for same-day delivery within 3 hours if you place your orders before 4pm. However, this depends on your address and availability of slots though, so it may not be possible during this circuit breaker period.

Giant Online

Like Sheng Siong, fellow budget supermarket chain Giant also has an online store. Price-wise, they’re one of the cheapest in town — especially if you buy their house brand stuff. Delivery fees-wise, however…

They’re actually one of the most expensive. Giant.sg charges a whopping $15 for orders under $60, which is the most expensive on this list.

If you’re trying to save costs, I wouldn’t recommend buying from Giant unless you can hit the $60 requirement. If not, it’s better to swing by one of their stores near you.

Amazon Prime Now

They also have a product range which goes beyond groceries to include electronics, toys, games and more, so it can be convenient to use them if there are other things you need to buy.

Finally, they offer pretty competitive prices on certain products, often lower than one the supermarkets are offering. The minimum spending of $40 isn’t too high either. Additionally, if you’re not yet a member, you can sign up for a 1-month free trial.

The main inconvenience is that you need to download their application and sign up for an account before you order, so it’s not something most users will do for the first time on the fly.

MoneySmart tip: Use a grocery shopping credit card

There are many credit cards that give you cash back and rebates for grocery shopping — online supermarkets included. Here are the top few cards:

• Citi Cash Back — 8 per cent cash back on groceries
• Maybank Family & Friends Card — 8 per cent cash back on groceries
• Citi SMRT Card — 5 per cent cash back on groceries
• HSBC Visa Platinum Card — 5 per cent cash back on groceries

This article was first published in MoneySmart.