Yahoo Finance Watsons vs Guardian vs Unity – Which Personal Care Store in Singapore is the Cheapest?
Hands up all those who think of Watsons, Guardian Pharmacy and Unity Pharmacy are one and the same. Looking around at the sea of hands, it seems that like me, you never bothered comparing prices between the three.
While everyone knows that Cold Storage is more expensive than NTUC Fairprice, to the naked eye the three personal care stores appear indistinguishable apart from their logos. We investigate.
Product | Watsons | Guardian Pharmacy | Unity Pharmacy |
Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser (1l) | $39.50 (now on offer $31.60) | $31.90 (now on offer $31.10) | $39.50 (now on offer $31.60) |
Avène Very High Protection Mineral Cream SPF 50+ | $35.60 | $35.60 | - |
Vaseline Lip Therapy | $4.00 (now on offer $2.90) | $4.10 | - |
Lifebuoy Antibacterial Bodywash (1l) | $9.80 | $9.80 | - |
Kirei Kirei Anti-Bacterial Foaming Hand Soap (250ml) | $4 | $3.85 (now on offer, 2 for $5.95) | - |
Head & Shoulders Cool Menthol Anti-dandruff Shampoo (675 ml) | $14.60 (now on offer $9.95) | $11.25 (now on offer $9.90) | - |
St Ives Green Tea Scrub | $9.90 | $9.90 | - |
Gillette Proglide Flexball Razor | $16.50 (now on offer $13.90) | $14.85 | - |
Gillette Series Sensitive Shaving Gel (200ml) | $9.00 | $9.35 | - |
Gillette Fusion Proglide Razor Cartridges (4 pieces) | $28.50 | $28.50 | - |
Colgate Plax Ice Mouthwash | $10.20 (now on offer $6.20) | $9.90 | - |
Colgate Sensitive Pro-Relief Whitening Toothpaste | $8.80 | $8.15 (now on offer $5.00) | $8.15 (now on offer $5.00) |
Gatsby Styling Wax (Hard & Keep) | $9.10 (now on offer $7.28) | $8.95 | - |
Oral-B Essential Floss | $5.80 (now on offer 2 for $8.50) | $5.75 | $5.75 (now on offer $4.60) |
Oral-B Vitality Precision Clean Power Toothbrush | $54.90 (now on offer $44.90) | $54.90 | $54.90 (now on offer $43.92) |
Johnson’s Baby Bath Milk & Rice (1l) | $8.00 (now on offer $6.40) | $8.25 | $7.95 (now on offer $5.95) |
Panadol Extend for Muscle and Joint Pain (18 tabs) | $7.50 | $7.50 | $7.50 |
Bausch and Lomb Renu Fresh Multi-Purpose Solution Set | $23.00 (now on offer, buy one get one free) | $22.95 | $23.00 |
PNKids Kids Prebiotics | $29.90 (now on offer 2 for $48.00) | $29.90 | $29.90 (now on offer $23.92) |
Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara | $21.90 (now on offer $19.90) | $21.90 (now on offer $19.90) | - |
The verdict
Guardian Pharmacy tends to have slightly lower base prices than Watsons or Unity.
In addition, Unity carries a much smaller range, with fewer bath and body products and no makeup products.
That aside, the three personal care stores have proven to be very competitive in terms of their special offers. Sales at one store tend to be matched by similar special offers by at least one of the others. It’s thus quite difficult to predict which store will carry the cheapest version of a product you want to buy at any one time.
As Watson and Guardian Pharmacy have an online catalogue that lets you check their prices and the offers available, it’s a good idea to compare prices online before heading down to the store to buy.
In addition, many shopping malls tend to have at least two of the three personal care stores on the premises—for instance, West Mall has all three. This makes comparison shopping easier, unless you’re too lazy to even take the escalator up or down a few floors.
Using a credit card that can get you cash rebates doesn’t hurt either.
If you are able to meet the minimum monthly spending of $500, you enjoy 5% cash rebates at all three personal care stores with the Maybank Family and Friends Card.
Otherwise, the POSB Everyday Card gives you 3% rebates on Watsons purchases with no minimum spending.
If all else fails, there’s the American Express True Cashback Card, which gets you 1.5% rebates on all spending, and a generous 5% in the first three months after you sign up for the card.
Which of the three personal care stores do you like best? Tell us in the comments!
Image Credits:
Ian Fuller
The post Watsons vs Guardian vs Unity - Which Personal Care Store in Singapore is the Cheapest? appeared first on the MoneySmart blog.
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