'Zombie apocalypse?' People are queueing for up to 45 minutes at supermarkets at 11pm - here's why

If you've been to the supermarkets over the recent weekend, you'll know how crazy the crowds were. 

Chinese New Year is just around the corner and everyone's in a mad rush to get ready. 

And if you haven't done your grocery shopping yet, brace yourselves for the throngs of people at the supermarkets. 

Content creator Clara Chua revealed how hectic things were in a TikTok video uploaded on Saturday (Jan 14).

She recently visited FairPrice Xtra at Nex with her family on the same day just before 11pm. 

Chua shared that while the discounts were "pretty crazy" — think $4.80 for a carton of drinks — the crowd was like a "zombie apocalypse", she described. 

"Never going to supermarkets when it's close to Chinese New Year," she said regretfully in the captions. 

[embed]https://www.tiktok.com/@explodingbelly/video/7188512758747483393?_r=1&_t=8Z35WVGtH7Z[/embed]

Speaking to AsiaOne, Chua said her family had just wanted to get some detergent but the supermarket was "mad crowded". 

"It looked as though we couldn't even walk to the inside of the supermarket," she described. 

Eventually, they decided to go to another FairPrice outlet at Serangoon Central but things there were "almost equally bad". 

"It's a neighbourhood outlet so it's really cramped and we queued for about half an hour there," she recounted. 

At the Serangoon Central outlet, she said she witnessed one man who was stuck in the queue for 30 minutes waiting to pay for just a loaf of bread. 

Since the family had to queue anyway, Chua said they decided to do their Chinese New Year shopping at the same time. 

So, they picked up soup bases, green tea and some snacks on top of the detergent. They also took turns waiting in the queue and grabbing other groceries, she shared. 

They also wanted to get some abalones but as it was at another counter with "a massive queue", they decided to drop the idea. 

Chua and her family weren't the only ones who battled massive crowds at supermarkets this weekend. 

In the comments, one netizen said he too had visited the FairPrice outlet at Nex and had faced the "same situation". 

Another shared that she visited another FairPrice outlet at AMK Hub and queued for 45 minutes there. 

But is Chinese New Year grocery shopping the only reason for the mad crowds? 

Some netizens suggested that perhaps, some people were also trying to clear their expiring Community Development Council (CDC) vouchers. 

Large crowd at Chinatown

Supermarkets aren't the only places that have seen large crowds during this period. 

The annual Chinese New Year bazaar at Chinatown, Festive Fair, is also back after a two-year hiatus and has attracted throngs of visitors. 

It started on Jan 1 and will run until Jan 21. 

While there are some 280 stalls at Smith Street, Pagoda Street, Trengganu Street and Temple Street, business has been surprisingly slow for some vendors. 

When The Sunday Times visited the market at 3pm on Jan 7, there were plenty of shoppers seen along Pagoda, Temple and Smith streets, purchasing Chinese New Year decorations and snacks.

But several areas, such Temple Street, were less crowded and had several unoccupied stalls. 

One seller, Joanne Wong told The Sunday Times that her area was "so empty" that she couldn't even cover her daily rental fee of $400 to $500. 

Wong had previously set up her stall at the bazaar before the pandemic and attributed the slow business to consumers turning to online shopping. 

"At this point, I just hope to break even," she said. 

melissateo@asiaone.com

No part of this story or photos can be reproduced without permission from AsiaOne.

Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.