Until now both me and my husband have used the services and ate the food of the famous 7-Eleven chains in three countries – Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam. And honestly, as a budget-conscious couple, we are very much grateful for its existence. So much that, at the behest of the universe, we would also like to use it in other Asian counties like Japan, Philippines and Laos.
However, recently both of us saw a certain surge in the number of Instagram reels made by the fans of 7-Eleven. This promotional phenomenon coincided perfectly with our stay in Phuket and forced us to ask a vital question — Is 7-Eleven overrated?
THE ANSWER IS…
NO – Even if you don’t know anything about the grocery and food shopping areas of a particular Asian country that you are visiting, rest assured that there would be a 7-Eleven waiting for you just a google search away!
YES – Sure, its convenience is unmatched, however it is not that much of a budget-conscious choice as everyone has made us believe it to be. It is a bit pricey.
Let me explain with help of 4 alternative supermarket/grocery store chains that we explored while in Phuket, which were way cheaper than 7-Eleven.
1. TOPS
This one we first found at Central Festival Mall’s 1st floor (as Thailand doesn’t have the concept of ground floor). I loved it at the first sight. It was huge and had everything that we wanted like – oats, dairy products, fresh fruits, baked goods, cosmetics, skincare, cleaning and hygiene products, wrapped food boxes that were made the same day and needed to be consumed on that day only.
Above all, it had one thing every budget-conscious traveler loves – OFFERS!
Like ‘Buy 1 Get 1’ on juices (and during the night even on the food boxes) plus slashed prices on items that had their expiry date approaching in 1-2 days.
Tip: My husband found he was getting heavy discounts on ordering products from nearby Tops store through the foodpanda app. So we saved a good amount of money on our first grocery shopping of Phuket trip. However, you would need to check whether the app services the area of your current stay or not.
2. LOTUS
In Phuket (and maybe even the whole Thailand), you would find Lotus stores sprinkled all over the territory. Its full building marts have food courts, money exchanges, jewellery stores, telecom services, cars and even swanky restaurants. And after passing it all, the main Lotus store covers most of the space.
In this store, you would find everything. Even clothes and electronics. We took a good stroll and were really tired by the end of it. So if you are thinking about shopping for a whole month’s worth of grocery, it is a good place for you.
Ongoing offer: One of the Lotus food courts we visited was giving out a ‘Tourist Privilege’ offer, where we presented our passport photo and bought a cash card of ฿100 but got ฿150 to spend through it. They even took an extra deposit of ฿10, but they gave it back along with the remaining amount on the return of the card. Through the use of this card, we bought Tom Yum Soup and Papaya Salad from their food court, saving us the extra cost of eating out 😋🍛
3. BIG C
This one reminded us of Big Bazaar back at home in India. It’s huge, has everything and we bought slippers (worth ฿69) and a huge watermelon at affordable price.
Just like Lotus, its whole-building mart houses everything from home electronics to groceries and more. Roaming in both of these huge marts of Big C and Lotus, without any shopping list or plan, might prove to be very tiring and it can steal away a lot of your valuable time too.
So our advice would be:
- Stay focused on what you want.
- Plan prior to visiting its full mart.
4. 24 SUPERCHEAP ✅
Without any contest, this one is my personal favourite because this is where most locals shop. From all of the above, as the name suggests, this one’s cheapest.
Where others sell snacks or skewers not below ฿10, some of this outlet’s store give out dumplings at ฿4 each piece 😍
The prices for basics like salt, bread, and veggies here are way below then the other stores. So if you are in Thailand, do a Google map search for ‘Supercheap near me’. And if you have one store near you, visit it at least once to see if it works for you.
Tip: We visited two Supercheap stores and both of them had an extra (a bit of separated space) where you have more stuff but in bundles. Our guess is that it is for wholesale purposes. You would find more stuff in that section like umbrellas, clothes and water shoes.
One last thing…
All the above-mentioned malls do have their mini version as well. So if pressed for time, yet need those groceries, stop at Tops Daily or BIG C Mini.
Also all stores (including 7-Eleven) offer basic medicines for fever, cough, gas, acidity etc. So in case you need anything for healing minor ailments, you know where to look.
Conclusion of this long post: Rely all you want on 7-Eleven, but do not forget to search for its local counterparts for great deals.
Did I miss any good store? Let me know in comments below.
PS – Banner Photo by Josh Chiodo on Unsplash