eMart is the SAF's retail network where servicemen buy uniforms, footwear and field gear, paying with an annual credit allowance where one credit equals one Singapore dollar. The catch most people miss: a lot of that gear is plain, hard-wearing and cheap enough to make sense for civilian life, and two eMart outlets let the public walk in and pay by card. This guide covers where the public can shop in 2026, how the credit system works, the real prices on common items, and which ones are actually worth carrying out the door.
eMart is run by the SAF as a clothing-and-equipment store for serving personnel. Active soldiers, NSFs and NSmen get an annual allowance of eMart credits to spend on the kit their vocation needs, and one credit is worth exactly one dollar at the till and on the online store. Most outlets sit inside camps and need an installation pass, so the average person never sees one.
Two of them break that rule. The Lifestylemart outlets at The Chevrons in Jurong East and SAFRA Punggol sit outside the wire and accept walk-in members of the public, who pay by cash or card rather than credits. A third public-friendly outlet operates at CMPB in Hillview. That is the part the SAF rarely advertises, and it is where the value lies for anyone who is not in uniform.
Outlets close on a rolling basis for refurbishment, so confirm before you travel. As of June 2026, two of the three public-facing outlets have closures booked for the second half of the year, which makes CMPB the reliable fallback. All three keep the same Tuesday closure across the network.
| Outlet | Address | Hours | 2026 notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lifestylemart @ The Chevrons | 48 Boon Lay Way, #02-10, S609961 | Wed to Mon, 11am to 9pm (closed Tue) | Closed 1 Jul to 25 Aug for renovation; reopens 26 Aug |
| Lifestylemart @ SAFRA Punggol | 9 Sentul Crescent, #02-04, S828654 | Wed to Mon, 11am to 9pm (closed Tue) | Closed for refurbishment until 30 Jun; eLocker at L2 carpark |
| Lifestylemart @ CMPB | 91 Hillview Link, #01-02, Block 1, S669723 | Wed to Mon, 10am to 8pm | Open; useful fallback during the other closures |
| Lifestylemart on Lazada | Online store | 24/7, next-day delivery on working days | Public can browse and buy; servicemen order via NS Portal to use credits |
If you are serving, the credit allowance is the bit that matters. Credits are topped up on a schedule, expire if you sit on them too long, and stretch differently depending on your service and vocation. They carry forward between top-up periods, but they do not survive forever, so the trick is to spend before a window closes rather than after.
Allowances are set by MINDEF and vary widely. The figures below are the headline rates per branch; check the NS Portal for the exact entitlement tied to your status. We cover the expiry rules, balance checks and spending mechanics in full in our guide to SAF eMart credits.
| Service | Status / vocation | Credits | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Army | Active combat vocations | 260 | Per year |
| Army | Active non-combat vocations | 170 | Per year |
| Army | Active NSmen | 113 | Every 2 years (226 over 4 years) |
| Air Force (RSAF) | Active combat, Group A / B | 270 / 310 | Per year |
| Air Force (RSAF) | Active NSmen | 115 | Every 2 years (230 over 4 years) |
| Navy (RSN) | Group A to D | 250 to 375 | Per year |
| Navy (RSN) | Active NSmen | 115 | Every 2 years (230 over 4 years) |
| SAFVC | Volunteers | 50 | On completion of each service year |
The appeal is that eMart stock is built to take a beating from people who train in it daily, then priced as a government store rather than a brand. A lot of it works just as well outside the army. Below are the items that earn their keep, with recent prices. Treat each as an 'around' figure as of mid-2026, since lines and prices rotate.
The gap is clearest on the basics. A plain technical T-shirt at a sports retailer runs S$20 to S$40; the eMart admin tee is under S$5. A quick-dry travel towel is S$25 to S$40 at outdoor shops against under S$5 here. The trade-off is plain styling, fixed colours and no fitting-room fuss, which is exactly what most buyers of these items want anyway. If you are tracking where small wins like this add up, a quick pass through a personal budget calculator shows how a few swapped staples move the monthly number.
| Item | eMart (around) | Typical high street | Why it works for civilians |
|---|---|---|---|
| Technical / admin T-shirt | S$4.74 | S$20 to S$40 | Plain gym and lounge tee |
| Microfibre towel | S$4.66 | S$25 to S$40 | Gym and travel towel |
| Training shoes (ASICS / NB) | S$44 to S$53 | S$80 to S$160 | Everyday running shoes |
| Multitool | S$33.57 | S$50 to S$120 | Camping and home repairs |
| Day pack | S$32.73 | S$60 to S$120 | Travel and hiking daypack |
Servicemen order through the NS Portal to pay with credits, where the catalogue is fuller than any single outlet. Stock is also listed on the public Lazada store for anyone to buy by card. Plan ahead either way: there is a minimum lead time for fulfilment, and a local home-delivery fee of around S$10.50 per order that can be waived once you cross the order threshold, so it pays to batch a list rather than dribble out single items.
One quirk catches people on footwear. The system blocks you from buying shoes whose size differs too far from your last purchase, so do not assume you can size up for a family member through the portal. For the full breakdown of what's stocked at the public Chevron outlet specifically, see our Chevron eMart guide.
eMart is one slice of a larger set of NS perks. Reservist make-up pay, SAF Day deals and the wider We Support NS programme all add up over a career, and the savings are real if you actually use them. We put numbers to the whole picture in how much NS can save you.
If you are eligible to pay with credits, the smartest move is treating the annual allowance like a use-it-or-lose-it budget: clear the staples you would buy anyway before the credits expire, then redirect the cash you would have spent at retail into a savings goal of your own.
Yes. The Lifestylemart outlets at The Chevrons in Jurong East, SAFRA Punggol and CMPB in Hillview accept walk-in members of the public, who pay by cash or card. Most camp-based eMart outlets, by contrast, need an installation pass.
Only serving personnel get credits, and they use them at any outlet or on the NS Portal where one credit equals one dollar. The public buys the same stock at the Lifestylemart outlets or on the Lazada store using ordinary cash or card, no credits required.
The plain basics give the biggest saving versus retail: admin T-shirts and shorts under S$5, a microfibre towel under S$5, training shoes around S$44 to S$53, plus the SAF insect repellent and a multitool. They are built to be hard-wearing and priced like a government store.
Yes. Credits are topped up on a schedule and carry forward between periods, but they lapse if left unused for too long and after you finish your NS obligations. Check your balance and entitlement on the NS Portal, and spend the staples you need before a window closes.
This is general financial information for Singapore, not personal financial advice. Figures change — verify current rates against the official sources above before acting. See our full disclaimer.