SINGAPORE — A Reddit user went on a rant concerning price increases recently, writing that a “Few years ago when people talked about inflation, I was quite dismissive as to what sort of price increase are they talking about.”
“Usually price increases are gradual such that we don’t notice it. But in recent months, the exponential increase has been crazy and my wallet is really feeling it. It’s like businesses aren’t afraid of losing customers anymore due to price increase.”
The Jan 28 post on r/Singapore spawned a lively discussion, with many commenters agreeing with the post owner. Several expressed concerns over the Goods and Services Tax, which increased by one per cent on Jan 1 and is due for a similar increase by the beginning of 2024.
“feels like the 2 step GST increase is a mistake, next year is another excuse for businesses to increase prices further,” wrote one.
“I get the feeling that a lot of businesses are just using the gst increase as an excuse to fleece their customers,” another opined.
“Businesses no need to use gst as an excuse they can literally use every reason under the sun,” a Reddit user agreed.
Others provided everyday examples.
“Look at Daiso, they increased their prices giving the reason they couldn’t survive with their previous pricing, but they kept opening more and more new stores. I don’t think people really believe they can’t “survive”, more like it would be silly not to take this opportunity to expand.”
“For Mcdonald’s, i used to order a meal and sundae (sometimes 2 piece wings) since 2017. Now, with the price increase, i have no longer desired to afford more extra. The price is just unbearable now. I would just wait for a promotion or earn reward points.”
One worried that “At this rate, i doubt I can ever retire.”
“I never had plans to retire, I know it’s not happening realistically,” a Redditor answered.
One wrote, “i was like you – ambivalent and quite dismissive till December 2022 and now Jan came.”
“I feel you OP. My wallet is hurting to the point that I dont feel so financially comfortable anymore,” another chimed in.
Based on a Reuters report last week, the core inflation rate in Singapore rose by 5.1 per cent, which was unchanged from the month before.
But for 2022 as a whole, core inflation was at an average of 4.1 per cent. In comparison, for 2021, it was 0.9 per cent. And headline inflation was at 6.1 per cent last year, while it was 2.3 per cent in 2021. /TISG