Long queues & empty shelves: Price hike at Daiso S'pore on May 1, 2022 sparks mass buying

No more S$2 items soon.

Mandy How | Janelle Pang | Lee Wei Lin | April 29, 2022, 06:01 PM

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It will no longer be the Daiso of old from May 1, 2022.

If you haven't heard, its flat S$2 pricing is being overhauled into a 15-tier system, which starts at S$2.14 and goes up to S$25.47.

The new system will kick in on May 1, 2022.

Ahead of the price hike, shoppers are flocking to Daiso outlets for one last spree, it seems.

Thomson Plaza

At the usually quiet Thomson Plaza, long queues had formed in the middle of Friday (Apr. 29) afternoon.

Photo by Janelle Pang

Photo by Janelle Pang

Photo by Janelle Pang

Empty shelves, considered an unusual sight at Daiso, were also spotted at the outlet.

The most popular items appeared to be containers and storage solutions.

Photo by Janelle Pang

Photo by Janelle Pang

Photo by Janelle Pang

Photo by Janelle Pang

Stationery, tableware, and instant food items were swept off the shelves as well:

Photo by Janelle Pang

Photo by Janelle Pang

Photo by Janelle Pang

Photo by Janelle Pang

A peek at some of the shoppers' baskets:

Photo by Janelle Pang

Photo by Janelle Pang

Photo by Janelle Pang

Photo by Janelle Pang

Photo by Janelle Pang

Two shoppers that Mothership spoke to confirmed that they were at Daiso due to the impending price hike.

When asked about the changes, 32-year-old Chng felt that it was "okay", adding that she would still shop at Daiso if she needed the items.

For today, she is mostly stocking up on stationery and home storage.

Similarly, Tan, 25, is "fine" with the higher prices, although she points out that some items, such as water bottles, may not be worth it.

She is also buying home storage items today.

Novena Square 2

Elsewhere at Novena Square 2 saw the same phenomenon of long queues and empty shelves on a Friday afternoon.

Photo by Lee Weilin

Photo by Lee Weilin

Storage solutions were also one of the best-selling items at this outlet.

Photo by Lee Weilin

Photo by Lee Weilin

Photo by Lee Weilin

Photo by Lee Weilin

Photo by Lee Weilin

And Petit Block toys, for some reason.

Photo by Lee Weilin

The food section, however, was still well stocked, with the exception of Nissin's Big Cup instant noodles.

Photo by Lee Weilin

Photo by Lee Weilin

Photo by Lee Weilin

Photo by Lee Weilin

There were quite a bit of make-up and make-up accessories left, too.

Photo by Lee Weilin

Photo by Lee Weilin

New prices displayed

New price tags were already on some of the products at both stores.

Some of these include leggings, water bottles, jewellery boxes, and tableware, which will be priced at S$4.07.

Photo by Lee Weilin

Photo by Janelle Pang

Photo by Janelle Pang

Photo by Janelle Pang

Photo by Janelle Pang

Queues will likely only get worse on Apr. 30.

Those heading down for one last hurrah can brace themselves for crowds.

And for those intending to beat the queues by doing your shopping online, well, Daiso's online store will be closed for 24 hours from Apr. 30, 6pm.

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Top image by Janelle Pang, Lee Weilin