Shopping is an integral part of our lives, and for the fairer sex, it’s even our favourite! We’ve put together a quick guide to shopping in Singapore, including malls, local designer stores, various outlet stores, and our recommendations on where and when to shop in Singapore for the latest clothing and tech collections, local artists and designers, and bargains.
Singapore’s shopping malls
The big malls have not only stores, but also great restaurants and places for all sorts of entertainment. Here you can spend an interesting time, often even a whole day. The main shopping activity in the city is concentrated on Orchard Road. It is more than two kilometers of different stores and malls.
Here you’ll find boutiques of world-famous brands as well as stores of stylish Singaporean designers. Stores of Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Dior, Dolce&Gabbana, Prada are concentrated in ION Orchard and Paragon Shopping Centre. TANGS Plaza and Robinsons department stores have both expensive and more democratic brands. TANGS Plaza has a huge selection of hipster things, Robinsons has a lot of cosmetics and a wide variety of clothing and footwear brands. At both centers, you can find items by Singaporean designers such as the stylish In Good Company and Womb. Read here how to access online to BioLife debit card.
Takashimaya or Ngee Ann City are worth a visit for the Japanese brands, especially the beauty brands. In the center there are mostly luxury brands like Hugo Boss, Juicy Couture, Fendi, Jo Malone, Christin Louboutin, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Versace. You’ll also find plenty of stores with home accessories, a bookstore with a Kinokunya playground for kids, and more. The floors smell of fragrance and downstairs don’t forget to check out the Laduree pastry shop for the freshest macaroons. There’s lots more cafés like PAUL where you can watch the lively, colorful but shady Orchard Street skyline over a steaming cup of coffee.
313@Somerset is worth checking out if you’re looking for unusual mid-priced items. There are boutiques by Singaporean designers like Love and Bonito, entire stores of sneakers, stylish caps and backpacks, and a huge Food Republic food court that takes up the entire fifth floor.
In Raffles City you can shop in the popular mid-priced stores, visit Robinson’s on the first floor and, as for cafes, go to Awfully Chocolate and forget about the word “diet”, it’s so good! Go to Din Tai Fung for Chinese dumplings and Tiong Bahru Bakery for coffee and the freshest croissants. Tiong Bahru Bakery is just across the street from the Raffles Hotel and centrally located by City Hall subway.
Marina Bay Sands has more than 170 boutiques under the roof of The Shoppes, where leading international brands such as Bottega Veneta, Chaumet, Roger Dubuis and Saint Laurent have created limited-edition collections that are sold only here. Not to forget Louis Vuitton’s famous boutique island. Marina Bay Sands is particularly notable for its luxury children’s clothing brands – Armani Junior, Bonpoint, Fendi Kids, Ralph Lauren Children and Dolce & Gabbana Junior. For instance, you can take a gondola ride through the mall itself as it winds its way along an artificial canal past the luxury boutiques.
Singapore’s largest mall, VivoCity, is perfect for families. It’s located in the southeast of the island and looks out over the scenic Sentosa Island of entertainment. Tommy Hilfiger, Lacoste, Zara, Timberland, Bebe, Desigual – there are many family brands with a medium price tag. The veranda outside offers a delightful view of Sentosa, the colorful monorail cars and the cable car. The complex has many good restaurants and cafes, both Asian and European, as well as areas for children’s entertainment.
For technology, it is worth going to Sim Lim Square and Challenger Singapore, for example. Here you can buy the latest, highest quality electronics, computers, cameras, printers, and more at adequate prices. Challenger Singapore also has a repair service for phones, PCs and cameras. Apple fans will love the Apple Store – here you can not only buy a device, but also get advice from a specialist, as well as take part in a master class.
Interesting technology at good prices can be purchased during one of the major IT fairs regularly held in Singapore: IT Show, PC Show, COMEX and SITEX.
Discounts and Outlets
The Great Singapore Sale
Every year, the city transforms into a kind of madhouse for a few weeks during this sale. Supermarkets, boutiques and shopping malls all cut prices by up to 70%. During this period it is possible to buy really good things at a very favorable price.
It is important to add that a similar sale period begins at the end of the year, before Christmas. The New Year sale starts at the beginning of November and lasts until mid-January.
Mustafa Shopping Center
This huge store in Little India sells almost everything from carrots to gold and has an amazing selection of goods. The prices are the lowest in Singapore and the mall is open 24/7 all year round. Lovers of Indian food should pay special attention to the mall as it sells a great variety of original Indian products.
Bugis Street and Shopping Centre
This is a paradise for lovers of inexpensive designer clothes and gifts: more than 600 stores with prices starting from 10 dollars. And it’s also very atmospheric: brightly colored storefronts, the buzz of voices and the mind-boggling smells of street food will follow you around all the time.
SCAPE Underground
This on-budget style store right on Central Orchard Road is something out of the realm of fantasy. But it’s there! What’s more, it employs students and young people who are still living on their parents’ pocket money. Buying something at SCAPE Underground can support a working student who is not always easy to live in expensive Singapore.
Anchorpoint
This center has many outlets of well-known brands, such as Charles and Keith Outlet, Pedro Outlet, G2000 Outlet, Giordano Outlet, Cotton On Outlet, Billabong Outlet, FOX Outlet, Capitol Optical Outlet and TYPO Outlet. Discounts in them go up to 70 %, so you can not wait for the Great Sale. There are surprisingly few people here – mainly locals know about this center.
IMM Outlet Mall
The largest outlet mall in Singapore. Among the brands that are regularly represented there are Calvin Klein Jeans, BillBong, Club 21, Clarks, City Chain, Furla, Converse, Hush Puppies, Juicy Couture, New Balance, Nine West, Nike, Adidas, Puma, Winter Time, Timberland, Onitsuka Tiger, G2000. Discounts go up to 80%, all year round.
