All of us use stereotypes and other pattern-recognition techniques because our mind needs to take shortcuts; otherwise, we’d be inundated with too much info, enough for us to go insane. And others will use stereotypes on us, whether they are accurate or not. Our demographic data, occupation, habits, and appearance are used by others to quickly speculate and derive additional information about us such as our spending desires and spending potential. And now with each of us leaving a trail of data for marketers to mine and analyse, we leave ourselves open to be discriminated upon financially. Discriminatory practices in pricing have always been in existence, but now they can be even more sophisticated.

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Viola and Velda Tan, Rachel Lim, Andrea Chong, and Willabelle Ong are all small fish compared to this fashion juggernaut. Except that you probably never have heard of him before. You’ve seen his designs and maybe even have some of his clothing in your closet. His name is Amancio Ortega. And what does this 80-year-old Spanish grandfather know about fashion and the kinds of things young Singaporeans want? Enough to make him (at one time) the richest person in the world. (more…)

Although this shop has been around for nearly a decade, many people (even those who pass by it daily) may not be aware of its existence. This is in part due to the fact that it is both a thrift shop and a church. Yes, the two businesses share the same building and the same entrance. The Rock of Salvation Church congregation meets in the back room of the thrift shop. The shop has plenty of clothing, accessories, and bric-a-brac, some furniture, and many small home appliances. Here’s why I think this thrift shop is worth checking out: (more…)

While in the US, Amazon was my go-to online marketplace for just about anything I wanted to buy at a competitive price – clothes, furniture, books, household goods, electronics, personal care items, and even food – but here in Singapore, we have something just as good as Amazon (and in many ways, even better than Amazon). We have Qoo10 (pronounced Q-ten). Like Amazon, Qoo10 has a wide range of products, there are sales and “daily deals” that entice you to buy using the scarcity tactic, and you can also shop via their app. And also like Amazon, you can use coupons. So why do I think it’s better? Here are 10 reasons. (more…)