Consumer rights glossary Singapore: 23 shopping terms

This consumer rights glossary for Singapore defines 23 shopping terms, from drip pricing and the S$400 GST line to energy-label ticks, early termination charges and Do Not Call rules. Each entry opens with the definition, links the official page behind it and points to the TBYB guide that applies.

It is a dated reference, checked on 17 October 2026, and general information, not legal advice. Entries give each page’s own date, and “our gloss” marks a definition that is ours, not an agency’s.

Drip pricing

In our gloss, drip pricing is advertising a headline price and adding charges you cannot avoid only later in the purchase. CCS’s Guidelines on Price Transparency, updated 26 September 2025, say unavoidable or mandatory charges such as taxes and service fees should be included in the total headline price, and charges that cannot be calculated in advance should be disclosed clearly beside it. See our total-price check and, for a renovation quote, comparing two quotes.

Subscription trap

A subscription trap, as CCS describes it, is making it very easy to start a subscription but unnecessarily difficult or confusing to cancel. Its dark-patterns page, updated 9 October 2026, gives a “free trial” that is easy to join but may take multiple steps, even a visit in person, to cancel. CCS’s price guidelines (updated 26 September 2025) encourage suppliers to notify you before a free trial ends and explain later fees and cancellation. See testing the cancel path.

Sneak into basket

Sneak into basket, as CCS describes it, is adding items or subscriptions to your cart without clearly telling you, for example with pre-ticked boxes, hoping you will not notice before paying. CCS’s dark-patterns page (updated 9 October 2026) says consumers may end up paying more for unwanted products or subscriptions. Our suggestion: compare the basket with what you chose, and save the checkout details.

False urgency

False urgency, in CCS’s description, is the pressure you may feel from “time-limited offers”, often with a countdown timer, or signs you will lose out if you do not buy at once, such as “Hurry! 7 other people are looking at this right now. Only 2 units left”. CCS’s dark-patterns page (updated 9 October 2026) says businesses must be prepared to back up such claims. See the 11.11 sale checks.

Fake ranking

Fake ranking, also called false hierarchy, is presenting some product options to look more appealing or superior so that consumers are nudged towards them, often premium ones. CCS’s dark-patterns page (updated 9 October 2026) gives brighter colours for premium options as a subtle example and, as a more concerning one, a “best value” label shoppers may reasonably believe when it is untrue. See a simple product brief.

Unit price

A unit price is the price per unit of measurement of a product, such as “$X per litre” or “$Y per kilogram”, shown beside the selling price to compare brands and pack sizes, says CCS (updated 28 September 2026). It describes a supermarket pilot with CASE and does not say shops must show unit prices. Its footnote starts Stage 2, eight weeks per operator, on 1 October 2026 for NTUC FairPrice, Sheng Siong, Prime Supermarket, Don Don Donki and RedMart and on 1 November 2026 for Cold Storage and Giant, though its About page also says labels are already at all Cold Storage and Giant outlets. See comparing pack sizes.

Quality-related claim

A quality-related claim, in CCS’s wording, is a claim about the qualities, uses or benefits associated with a product or business. CCS’s release of 6 October 2025 says its guide followed greenwashing concerns and sets five principles: claims should be true and accurate, clear, meaningful, accompanied by material information and supportable by evidence. See eco-friendly claims.

Low-value goods

Low-value goods are goods with a sales value of S$400 or below. IRAS (updated 10 August 2026) says that if they come by air or post from a GST-registered supplier, you pay GST at purchase; by default, for a registered seller, the S$400 test applies per item, not per consignment, and sales value excludes transport and insurance charges, GST and customs duties. See the S$400 rule, which also covers a seller’s option to count per consignment.

Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF) value

In our gloss, the CIF value is the cost of the goods plus the insurance and freight to bring them in. IRAS’s importing page (updated 2 June 2026) says postage counts as freight and GST (9% on that page) is computed on the CIF value plus customs duties. In IRAS’s example (updated 10 August 2026), sneakers of S$390 plus S$35 for transport and insurance have a CIF value of S$425, so GST is collected on importation if the seller is not GST-registered. See GST on overseas purchases.

Import GST relief

Import GST relief means no GST is charged on importation for goods brought in by air or post with a CIF value of S$400 or below, excluding intoxicating liquors and tobacco. IRAS (updated 2 June 2026) says GST applies to the full value above S$400, sea and land imports get no relief, and a GST-registered overseas supplier still charges GST at purchase. For goods you carry home, see the traveller GST guide.

Remote services

Remote services are services you can use without being physically present where they are performed. IRAS (updated 9 October 2026) says a consumer who is not GST-registered must pay GST on them, at 9%, when buying from a GST-registered overseas provider; examples include apps, streaming, cloud storage and online counselling, but not hairdressing or land tours. See GST on subscriptions and apps.

Energy label

The Energy Label is the NEA label that registered suppliers must affix to regulated goods, such as air-conditioners and refrigerators, only after NEA issues the model’s Certificate of Registration (COR). NEA’s page (updated 1 July 2026) says the label shows the COR registration number and that consumers must only buy models in NEA’s Database of Registered Goods. A single-phase air-conditioner’s annual cost on it assumes 27 cents per kWh, 8 hours’ daily use and 16 hours’ standby. See comparing running costs from the label and air conditioner size for a room.

Tick rating

A tick rating is the number of ticks on NEA’s Energy Label showing a model’s relative energy efficiency, which the label page also gives in words, from Low (1 tick) to Excellent (5 ticks). NEA’s tick-rating page (both updated 1 July 2026) sets bands by appliance, rating water heaters by Uniform Energy Factor (UEF) from 1 tick at 0.40 to 0.55 to 5 ticks above 1.00. See what the ticks mean on a water heater.

Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS)

In our gloss, Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) are the minimum efficiency requirements NEA sets for regulated goods; for example, an electric storage water heater up to 12 kW and 500 L needs a UEF of at least 0.40. NEA’s MEPS page (updated 7 August 2026) lists them by appliance, and its label page says regulated goods must not be advertised unless they comply. See what shops cannot sell.

Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR)

CADR is a rating some air purifiers carry, with three numbers for smoke, dust and pollen. NEA’s haze FAQs (updated 17 October 2026) say the smoke CADR is the most appropriate for haze and should be at least 3 times the room’s volume in cubic metres; many effective purifiers have no CADR, so ask the maker for evidence of its claims. See sizing by CADR.

Early termination charge (ETC)

An early termination charge (ETC) is what a provider charges if you end a telecom or media service agreement before its contract period ends, says IMDA in advisory guidelines of 8 November 2023. IMDA considers contract periods should be no more than 24 months, and an ETC on a contract over three months should fall at least month by month and never exceed the remaining monthly fees. Its example: a S$200 ETC at sign-up on a 24-month plan is at most 6/24 × S$200 = S$50 at month 18, less avoidable costs. The guidelines are advisory; the Code prevails. See the SIM-only worksheet.

Voice over LTE (VoLTE)

VoLTE is technology for making voice calls over the LTE network; IMDA’s equipment Q&A (July 2023) says a non-VoLTE phone lacks the hardware or software for this and typically relies on 2G or 3G for voice. As at July 2023, it said operators planned to cease 3G from 31 July 2024, after which non-VoLTE phones could not call fixed lines such as emergency services. IMDA’s release of 24 July 2024 (page updated 10 October 2024) said M1 would start retiring 3G on 1 August 2024, with Singtel and StarHub planning to start in November 2024 if migration went smoothly. The pages we read do not say whether 3G has closed, so check with your operator first. See buying overseas.

Cybersecurity Labelling Scheme (CLS)

The Cybersecurity Labelling Scheme (CLS), launched in 2020, rates the cybersecurity levels of Internet-of-Things devices through a tiered label. MDDI’s factsheet of 2 March 2026 says all residential routers sold in Singapore must currently meet CLS Level 1, and that CSA is working with IMDA on Level 2 requirements for routers, expected to come into force by end 2027. See router labels.

NRIC authentication

NRIC authentication is using an NRIC number, in full or in part, to prove an individual is who they claim to be, for example as a default password. MDDI’s release of 3 February 2026 says private organisations have until 31 December 2026 to phase it out and PDPC will step up enforcement against them from 1 January 2027. It treats partial NRIC numbers used to tell people apart (identification) separately, for public agencies. See what shops can ask for.

Specified message

A specified message, under the Do Not Call rules, is a message to a Singapore telephone number whose purpose, or one of its purposes, is to advertise, promote or offer goods, services, land or a business or investment opportunity, or to promote their supplier. PDPC’s Do Not Call guidelines, revised 1 February 2021, say most commercial marketing messages qualify, even if free, and senders must check the DNC Register unless they hold clear and unambiguous consent in evidential form. See messages after a purchase.

Ongoing relationship

In the Do Not Call rules, an ongoing relationship is a continuing relationship between sender and recipient arising from the sender’s business or activity, such as a subscription, membership or account. PDPC’s guidelines (revised 1 February 2021) say a message solely about that relationship’s subject matter is not a specified message, once-off transactions are insufficient, and a members’ offer that also promotes new arrivals still counts. See shop messages after a purchase.

Unfair trade practice

An unfair trade practice, says CCS (updated 9 June 2026), can be anything a business says or does that misleads or deceives a consumer, especially a vulnerable one such as an elderly or disabled person. CCS’s overview of the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act (updated 26 September 2025) says the Act’s Second Schedule gives examples and the list is not exhaustive. The Small Claims Tribunals (updated 2 June 2026) can hear a supplier dispute over an unfair practice under the Act if it involves a contract for goods or services, or a hire-purchase agreement. See your consumer rights.

Memorandum of Consent

A Memorandum of Consent is a document from both parties that raises the Small Claims Tribunals’ claim limit from S$20,000 to S$30,000. The Singapore Courts’ eligibility page (updated 2 June 2026) adds that a claim must be filed within 2 years of the event behind it and not against a respondent outside Singapore. See the small claims guide.

Which terms does this glossary leave out?

• Lemon Law: not defined because its official sources, the Ministry’s advisory and CASE’s pages, could not be opened on 3 October or 17 October 2026; see our Lemon Law action plan and check the rule with CASE.
• Cancellation and cooling-off rights: no page used here covers them, so no term is defined; our suggestion is to save the seller’s return terms before you pay.

What should I recheck, and when?

• Unit pricing, on CCS’s page: on 2 November 2026 (did Cold Storage and Giant start; is the conflict resolved?) and from 26 November 2026 (eight weeks after 1 October, our arithmetic).
• NRIC dates (31 December 2026, 1 January 2027) and the router timetable (end 2027), against MDDI.
• The 9% GST rate and S$400 limit, against IRAS’s pages of 2 June, 10 August and 9 October 2026.
• IMDA’s 2023 papers and 3G release, and PDPC’s 2021 guidelines, for newer versions or a statement on whether 3G has closed.

For more, see the ownership, comparing and trying topic pages.