Daiso S’pore Raising Prices Of Selected Items From $2 To $4.07
Two weeks ago, Singaporeans were sent into a tizzy when $2 Japanese lifestyle goods chain Daiso announced that it was going to charge GST separately from May 1, 2022. This means that shopping at Daiso will cost $2.14 per item with 7 per cent GST, and will continue to increase according to planned GST hikes in 2023 and 2024.
But wait, there’s more
A few days later, Daiso issued a new price chart with 15 tiers of prices. This ranges from $2.14 all the way to $25.47 per item.
Confused? We break it down for you
Daiso currently has two shop concepts in Singapore — the everything-at-$2 eponymous store that it’s famous for, and Threeppy, its premium range of products with higher prices that was introduced here in 2019.
All Daiso products come with yen price tags, since it’s, well, Japanese. Before the announced price hike, products that have no yen, ¥150 or ¥200 tags all cost a flat S$2, while items worth ¥300 and above are sold under Threeppy at prices starting from $3.80.
What to expect after the price hike
After the price hike, the no yen/ ¥150 items will cost $2.14 each. But the most significant change is that ¥200 items will cost $4.07 (with GST), a twofold increase from the previous $2.
For bargain hunters, this also means that those cheap cheap-must-buy $2 knick-knacks are not as wallet-friendly when they are $4.07 each.
Ahead of May 1, Daiso has already started pasting $4.07 stickers on some of its ¥200 goods, like drinking glasses (see above).
This sparked a buying frenzy
Perhaps unsurprisingly, this prompted Daiso fans to throng its outlets to stock up on their favourite products before the prices go up.
8days.sg visited a few Daiso branches, and observed that cleaning supplies (like a mould spray), ¥200 storage containers, photo frames, and travel accessories like winter gloves, hats and scarves are flying off the shelves.
It remains to be seen if Daiso will alienate some of its customer base who like mindlessly spending at its stores ’cos everything is $2.
Here’s a look at some of the (currently $2) items that will cost $4.07 after this weekend:
Photos: Yip Jieying
