5 Useful Tips When You Are Shopping in Singapore

Do you love to shop? If yes, this article is written for you. Shopping is an addiction, which explains why there are so many shopaholics in this world. If you are a shopaholic, you will always have the urge to buy something every day. You will always plan holiday trips to popular shopping destinations like Hong Kong, Paris and Singapore.

Singapore is considered one of the most popular shopping destinations in the world. When you shop in Singapore, you will never get bored because there are so many shopping malls all located in one city. When you visit Singapore, you must go to places like Orchard Road, Suntec City, Sim Lim Square and Vivo to satisfy your shopping crave.

Every year, there is a Great Singapore Sale (GSS) period in Singapore. GSS usually starts from late May and ends in early July. During GSS, most popular shopping malls and boutiques offer up to 75% discounts for their goods. If you want to get more value for your money, plan your Singapore trip in June.

Now, let me share with you 5 useful Singapore shopping tips so that you will have an enjoyable shopping experience during the trip.

1. GST (Goods and Service Tax). All goods and services in Singapore are subject to 7% GST at the point of this writing. In some cases, GST is not included in the price tag. So before checkout, always calculate the 7% into your total cost.

2. Visit Singapore in June. As I mentioned earlier, GSS is held every year between late May and early July. So if you do not want to miss the huge discounts during GSS, try to visit Singapore in June. If you are unable to make it in June, you can plan your trip either in December or January because there are sales during the Christmas and Chinese New Year periods.

3. Bring more credit cards. Almost all boutiques, restaurants and major shopping malls in Singapore accept credit card payment. In Singapore, there are many shops that offer discounts for certain credit card holders. So do bring more credit cards, preferably of different banks so as to enjoy the different discounts.

4. Bargain. Don’t take the initial offer as the final offer. Always bargain when you are shopping at places like: Bugis Street, Sim Lim Square, Chinatown and Little India.

5. Make sure that the taxi drivers go by the meter. Although most taxi drivers are nice people who follow the rules, there are some bad apples that don’t go by meter when they see that you are a tourist. So for your benefit, always check the taxi meter when you board a taxi.