Supermarkets announce priority hours, dedicated checkout lanes for seniors, vulnerable groups

SINGAPORE — Supermarkets here will be setting aside time slots and allotting dedicated queues for the elderly, those with disabilities and other vulnerable shoppers. 

This is in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, with the supermarket chains looking to ensure that vulnerable groups have easy access to food and other essentials. 

FairPrice announced in a statement on Tuesday (March 24) that starting next week, its “Priority Shopping Hour” will be held every Monday during the first hour of opening at its stores, or from 7am to 8am at all its 24-hour stores. 

During these hours, seniors can enter the store upon presenting their Pioneer Generation Card, while persons with disabilities and pregnant women can enter upon informing staff at the stores' entrances of their condition. 

Dairy Farm Singapore, which owns Cold Storage, Giant, Market Place and Jason’s Deli, announced similar measures across all its stores. 

Starting Tuesday, there will be a dedicated shopping hour every Tuesday and Wednesday morning for seniors and other vulnerable groups. Similar to FairPrice, this will be implemented on the first hour of its stores’ opening on those days, or from 8am to 9am at its 24-hour stores. 

The company added that it has also implemented designated checkout lines for this group of customers during normal operating hours “to accommodate those that cannot shop during dedicated hours”. 

Mr Chris Bush, the chief executive officer of Southeast Asia food at Dairy Farm International said: “We kindly request the support of all our customers’ by respecting these measures, as we are all dependent on the kindness, understanding and compassion of each other to help us through these challenging times.”

Echoing this, FairPrice Group's chief executive officer Seah Kian Peng said that the dedicated shopping hour for the pioneer generation is aimed at safeguarding their well-being and providing them with more time and space. 

"We appreciate the understanding and support from all our customers,” he said.  

These measures follow similar measures that have been taken across the globe to prioritise vulnerable customers amidst panic buying of essentials such as toilet paper and staples. 

In the United Kingdom, Marks and Spencer and Tesco have announced priority hours for the elderly and those with disabilities while Australian supermarket chain Woolworths has also implemented similar measures.