Mr Melvin Yong, President of CASE

Distinguished Guests

 

Introduction

 

1. Good evening. Thank you for inviting me to join you at the Consumer Association of Singapore (CASE) Partners’ Appreciation Dinner.

 

2. Last year, public awareness and perception of consumer rights hit an all-time high.

 

a. According to CASE’s survey, public perception of consumer rights has arisen from about 56% in 2020, to 63% in 2023, and close to 67% last year.

 

b. At the same time, public awareness of CASE also rose from about 52% in 2020, to 63% in 2023, and to 66% last year.

 

3. This is testament to the good work of CASE and its partners – many of whom are here in this room tonight – to protect consumers’ interest. You have done so by informing and educating consumers, and through promoting an environment of fair and ethical trade practices. CaseTrust is a good example of this.

 

a. Since its establishment in 1999, CaseTrust has progressively expanded its accreditation framework to different types of businesses, including renovation, motoring, spa and wellness, direct selling, jewellery, and e-businesses or online businesses two years ago.

 

b. Most recently, CaseTrust was expanded to cover skill-based or smaller businesses, and now comprises three tiers – Gold; Silver; and Bronze – differentiated by the extent and robustness of consumer protection and dispute resolution measures that are in place.

 

c. I am glad to hear that popular e-commerce platforms Shopee and Lazada have not only promoted the CaseTrust accreditation to the merchants on their platforms, but also implemented dispute resolution practices to better resolve complaints.

 

d. These examples demonstrate how CASE has progressively enhanced CaseTrust to keep abreast of consumer and industry trends, and ensure that it stays relevant.

 

4. Like CaseTrust, CASE’s introduction of unit pricing is also intended to enhance market transparency, help consumers make informed purchasing decisions, and promote fair trading and pro-consumer practices.

 

a. Two years ago, CASE had introduced unit pricing on more than 1,200 grocery items on its Price Kaki mobile app.

 

b. By displaying the price per unit of measurement of a product, consumers will be able to compare the prices of products across different brands and package sizes more easily.

 

c. To date, the Price Kaki app displays unit pricing for over 6,000 items, including groceries and other household items.

 

d. As Melvin shared earlier in his speech, there are now over 170,000 downloads of the Price Kaki app.

 

5. Building on this, I am pleased to announce that the Government will embark on a pilot with CASE later this year to roll out unit pricing across four major supermarket operators – namely, NTUC FairPrice, Cold Storage and Giant, Sheng Siong, and Prime.

 

a. Under this pilot, these four operators will introduce unit pricing for common grocery items, such as rice, meat, eggs, cooking oils, fruits and vegetables, at selected outlets.

 

b. In addition to the price of the product, consumers will also be able to see the price per unit displayed on the shelf, such as “per litre” or “per kilogram”. This will provide consumers with relative price information to guide their purchasing decisions.

 

c. As part of the pilot, the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) will also conduct a market survey to gather feedback from consumers on the display and benefits of unit prices. This will inform our guidelines on unit pricing, as well as our plans to roll out unit pricing more widely at a later stage.

 

d. We hope that the use of unit pricing will improve price transparency, help consumers make choices to stretch their dollar, and deter retailers from pricing gimmicks.

 

6. As industry practices change, and as consumer habits, patterns and preferences shift, it is timely for us to undertake a more fundamental review of our consumer protection regime. MTI and CCCS have been closely studying these trends and how we can strengthen our ability to deal with evolving unfair practices.

 

7. To complement these efforts, I am happy to announce that the Government has convened a Consumer Protection Review Panel to review key consumer concerns in Singapore and consider what more can be done.

 

a. The Panel will be co-chaired by Melvin and former judicial commissioner Ms Foo Tuat Yien, and comprise academics, legal representatives and relevant industry leaders. I would like to thank CASE for taking the lead on this effort.

 

b. For a start, the Panel will study five key issues – namely, pre-payment losses; online commerce; entertainment events; pressure sales tactics; and improving access to recourse. These issues have been identified through various feedback and observations.

 

i. For example, as Melvin had shared, there was a fourfold increase in pre-payment losses reported by consumers last year compared to 2023, with total losses reaching a high of $1.93 million due to sudden business closures and companies becoming unresponsive after pre-payments. There is therefore an impetus to see how we can mitigate such losses, especially from sectors such as beauty, renovation, and gyms which see higher incidence rates.

 

ii. The rise of online purchases has also given rise to an increase in e-commerce complaints, which comprised about 33% of all complaints received last year. There is therefore also an impetus for us to study how to strengthen consumer recourse in the event of failure to fulfill orders, delivery issues, defective or non-conforming goods.

 

c. The Panel will consult with key industry stakeholders, study international trends and best practices, and develop recommendations to drive consumer empowerment, raise industry standards, and strengthen regulatory levers where appropriate to our local context.

 

d. I look forward to the Panel’s report.

 

8. Once again, thank you for inviting me tonight to join you on this occasion. All of you here tonight – from CASE, to the businesses and business associations, and to the volunteers that have signed up as Price Kaki champions – have contributed to building a stronger consumer protection regime here in Singapore that not only benefits consumers, but also strengthens consumer trust and promotes fair competition. This way, we can build a trustworthy marketplace where both consumers and businesses can thrive.

 

9. Thank you, and I wish you a good evening ahead.