Hands up if it doesn’t matter to you which pharmacy in Singapore you buy your toiletries and personal care items from! (looks at a sea of hands) Yup, I bet you always just picked the Guardian, Watsons or Unity Pharmacy that’s closest to you, right?
Everyone knows that Cold Storage is more expensive than NTUC Fairprice, but when it comes to pharmacies, the 3 leading personal care stores seem almost indistinguishable (save from their logos, of course). How do their prices compare? We investigate.
Guardian vs Watsons vs Unity Pharmacy price comparison
The truth is that their prices are all very competitive. And while it’s not feasible for me to have a crazy price index of every product carried by the stores, here’s a sloppy list of some popular products and their prices at Guardian, Watsons and Unity Pharmacy.
| Product | Guardian Singapore | Watsons Singapore | Unity Pharmacy |
| Kirei Kirei Lion AntiBacterial Foaming Hand Soap (250ml) | $4 | $4 | $3.95 |
| Colgate Total Professional Whitening Toothpaste (2x150g) | $9.25 | $9.25 | $9.25 |
| Panadol Extra with Optizorb (20s) | $8.30 | $8.30 | $8.30 (currently on sale for $7.85) |
| Dettol Original Anti-Bacterial Body Wash (950ml) | $10.50 (currently on sale for $8.45) | $10.40 (currently on sale for $8.85) | $10.40 |
| Sebamed Olive Face & Body Wash | $18.40 | $18.40 (currently on sale for $14.70) | $17 (currently on promotion, 2 for $24.95) |
| Pantene Aqua Pure Conditioner (670ml) | $12 (currently on sale for $8.95) | $12 (currently on sale for $8.95) | – |
| Zyrtec R Rapid Relief FilmCoated Tablet (10s) | $13.40 (current promotion 2 for $22.75 , 3 for $32.10) | $13.40 | $13.30 (currently on promotion, 2 for $22.60) |
| L’Oreal Ever Pure Moisture Shampoo (250ml) | $15.90 (currently on sale for $12.70) | $15.90 | – |
| Sunplay Watery Cool Lotion SPF75 PA+++ (35g) | $17.20 (currently on sale for $13.70) | $17.70 (currently on sale for $13.27) | $16.90 |
| Redoxon Triple Action Efferverscent Blackcurrant (30s) | $22.40 | $22.40 | $22.40 |
Verdict: which pharmacy in Singapore is the cheapest?
There are quite a few malls with all 3 pharmacies (like Clementi Mall, Great World City and Jurong Point), so I suppose it’s not impossible to compare the prices of all the items on your shopping list… But I mean, I doubt the few cents difference is worth the effort of going up and down all the escalators.
The prices of all 3 chains seem very similar. The three personal care stores have proven to be very competitive not just in terms of price, but in terms of their promotions as well. At regular price, Unity seems slightly cheaper. However, Guardian and Watsons’ many promotions make up for it.
Sales at one store tend to be matched by similar special offers by at least one of the others. Hence, it’s quite difficult to predict which store will carry the cheapest version of a product you want to buy at any one time.
That said, it should be noted that there are over 100 Watsons and Guardian outlets each, but only 60+ Unity Pharmacy stores. The smaller Unity outlets also typically have quite a limited product range so you may not be able to get everything there. Watsons and Guardian also have online catalogues (and e-stores) so you check the prices and ongoing offers before you head down.
In conclusion: Since the prices are pretty much the same, you should probably chose 1 chain to stick to. That way, you can earn loyalty points and get additional rebates off your purchases.
Here are the best memberships and credit cards to make the most of your chosen chain.
Guardian Singapore – PAssion Card for shared rebates across Cold Storage & Giant
There is no “Guardian membership”; instead, the points card to have is the PAssion card. It’s a good one for sharing rebates across Cold Storage, Giant, and Guardian.
Under the TapForMore (TFM) programme, you earn 1 point for every dollar spent, and can redeem your TFM points at any of the participating merchants (Cold Storage supermarts, Guardian and Giant). 150 points ($150 spend) is $1 off your purchase.
There’s already a POSB PAssion debit card, but you might want to use either of these 2 credit cards for earning cash rebates at Guardian:
Maybank Family & Friends Card – You get either 5% or 8% cashback on your purchases (either $500 or $800 minimum spend). The earn rate is high, but rebates are capped at $600 per year, which averages out to $50 per month.
UOB Delight credit card – You earn either 3% or 8% (minimum $400 or $800 spend) on all Guardian purchases, plus 10% off house-brand products. Rebates are capped at $50 per month.
Watsons Singapore – Watsons membership & credit card cash rebates
Watsons is the only of the 3 pharmacies to have their own rewards programme.
Watsons membership is free, and the basic earn rate is $5 = 1 point. If you spend $50 in a single receipt, you get 10 + 10 bonus points and double the earnings on house-brand products. Every 20 points ($100 spend at the base earn rate) is $1 off your bill.
In addition to earning Watsons points, you can use the following cashback credit cards for additional rebates:
Maybank Family & Friends Card – You get either 5% or 8% cashback on your purchases (either $500 or $800 minimum spend). The earn rate is high, but rebates are capped at $600 per year, which averages out to $50 per month.
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- on Online Purchases, Groceries, Taxi, Ride-hailing & Public Transport
- 5% Savings
- on Other Retail Spend
- 0.3% Savings
- Min. Spend per month to earn max rebates
- S$500
Get S$370 Cash or 5,040 SmartPoints in as fast as 5 weeks when you spend S$500 within 30 days. Plus spend monthly on your card for 3 months and get EXTRA S$50 Cash or 700 SmartPoints!
Stand to get additional prizes like a Panerai Quaranta 40mm PAM01572 (worth S$8,500) or S$5,000 Cash or an Apple 14" MacBook Pro (worth S$2,199) on top of your baseline gift when you sign up through MoneySmart! T&Cs apply.
Citi SMRT Card – There is no minimum spend for this card, and you will earn at least 1.7% cashback on your Watsons purchases. If you hit $300 spend, you get another 0.3% to make it 2% cashback.
- Cash rebates on Online Food Delivery
- Up to 10%
- Cash Rebates on Groceries from Sheng Siong & RedMart
- Up to 5%
- Fuel Savings at SPC
- Up to 20.1% + 2%
POSB Everyday Card – There is no minimum spend and cashback cap, so this a great card for toiletry shopping. You earn 3% on all Watsons purchases.
Unity Pharmacy – Sign up for NTUC membership
As Unity Pharmacy is part of the NTUC Group, you should sign up for NTUC membership and get the NTUC Plus! Card to get the most out of your shopping experience. Membership costs $10, and the earn rate is $1 = 2 LinkPoints, but you must spend at least $20 each time. If you’re an NTUC member, you also earn 4% rebate at Unity.
Senior citizens get 2% off on Tuesdays and the pioneer generation gets 3% off on Monday and Thursday. Expenditure is capped at $200 for each purchase.
There are a few credit cards for Unity:
NTUC Plus! Visa Credit Card – Earn the highest rebate of 12% at not just NTUC, but Unity as well. The minimum spend is $400, and the expenditure cap (for earning rebates) is $500 per month.
There is also the OCBC Plus! credit card that gives you a 7% cashback, but the minimum spend is higher at $500. If you shop at Unity and NTUC, there’s really not much reason to not to get the NTUC Plus! one.
Maybank Family & Friends Card – You get either 5% or 8% cashback on your purchases (either $500 or $800 minimum spend). The earn rate is high, but rebates are capped at $600 per year, which averages out to $50 per month.
Which of the three personal care stores do you like best? Tell us in the comments!
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