Those who work or stay near VivoCity were deeply saddened when the Giant hypermarket closed earlier this year, leaving them without a supermarket to while away their time. There may be a Cold Storage over at Harbourfront Centre, but hey, it’s much too small for mindless walks down the aisles.
Now, the largest NTUC FairPrice Xtra in Singapore has opened where Giant used to be in VivoCity, and it’s filled with everything we want in a hypermarket and more. Besides being the newest and largest (over 90,000 sq ft), the best thing about this outlet has got to be the dine-in section. Get to pick your favourite seafood or meat cuts and get it cooked and consumed right there. Enjoy a beer (from reverse beer taps), coffee or sushi while you’re there too.
And if you’re looking for fresh produce, head straight for the display tanks with live seafood, bakery with bread baked in-store daily, and the indoor urban farm where vegetables are being grown. Those into whole foods and loose goods will find plenty of organic products to choose from, plus a bulk foods section where you can buy as much or as little as you want.
If you’re like us, make a beeline for the alcohol section to browse their wide array of wines, spirits and craft beers. Be sure to check out the ice cream section too, designed to look like an ice cream truck, that’s filled with plenty of icy treats including those fancy ones from Korea and Japan.
It is also well-stocked for Sentosa-goers and tourists. There’s BBQ equipment aplenty, a bicycle servicing and customisation zone, luggage repair services, and more.
And step aside Sephora, the largest Unity Pharmacy store in Singapore is here, housed within the hypermarket, and features an ample beauty studio. Get tips and skin analysis from experts as you shop, and even make use of their virtual make-up tool.
Next month, the hypermarket will roll out further initiatives, including a mobile app allowing you to scan and pay for your products using your own smartphone. This lets you skip the payment queues completely, even the self check-out one, which we know still jams up sometimes.
Further afield, an “endless aisle” concept is also coming our way, where you can shop and purchase products not available in-store and have them delivered to the store or your home. We’ll wait and see if that just means online shopping.
FairPrice Xtra (8am-11pm daily) and Unity Pharmacy (9am-10.30pm daily) are at #01-23 and #B2-23 VivoCity, 1 Harbourfront Walk.
