shops making hay while the prices go up

77shelf88

     Do you think shops are profiteering while the cost of living is high , as an example i having been a big user of ASDA essential range but in the last few weeks all their prices have gone up by  50% to more than 100%  ie soups went up from 19p to 45p in one go   , cheese from £3.65 to £4.40 even baked beans 19p to 27 p   ,not an essential but dog food pouches from £9.50 to £14.50
      Even cutting out all the slightly nicer items my shop has increased by £30 for less items  use to spend around £60 and now it is around £100, i can not see any decreases across the site and would have hoped they would have kept the rises around the 10%  cost of living rise

Well the day after i asked this question ASDA  more than halved  the size of their   essential cheddar    and increased the price so to buy the same size as before means a price increase of £0.90  or £1.65 if taken from the first price increase

MalMonroe

Of course shops will always try to make hay while the sun shines. Any excuse for a rise. So yes, I agree.

But you can always shop around, I guess. One of my friends shops at Lidl, always has done and although their prices have obviously risen, she says they're not as high as those I pay - I've been a faithful Sainsbury's customer for years, now we have an online shop from them and it suits us, if we think something's too expensive we cut it out or buy a cheaper (own brand) version. My friend thinks we're daft. Oh well!

With pet food, though, I'm not sure if we're supposed to recommend places but my neighbour's been getting named brand (Felix) (oh dear, name dropping all over the place here) cat food from Home Bargains and says it's a bit cheaper than the supermarkets. Maybe they are cheaper with dog food, too? They do have quite a few 'proper' brands. Although I do know how fussy our pets can be about their food and it's always best to stick to what they know. In fact, quite a few things such as tinned foods and bread etc. are cheaper, according to her and I've no reason to doubt what she says. That may be an option for you if you have one nearby? Or B&M, they're similar to Home Bargains in my (pre-covid) experience. They also do branded groceries and pet food a bit cheaper.

Maybe if customers start to be a bit more fussy about where they (we) shop, the actual shops will take notice? We do need to start to be a bit more canny, though - and I include myself in that. 

Hope that's been a bit helpful, although I know you weren't seeking help but maybe you could try those cheaper places without losing the quality you want. 

pumpkin89

No, they're not profiteering.

The reality is that supermarkets are increasing prices by less than the increase they are paying suppliers - squeezing their own margins.  Unfortunately, the cheapest products will have the biggest rises as there is no margin to squeeze; they were sold more or less at break even to start with.

oldernonethewiser

pumpkin89 said:

No, they're not profiteering.

The reality is that supermarkets are increasing prices by less than the increase they are paying suppliers - squeezing their own margins.  Unfortunately, the cheapest products will have the biggest rises as there is no margin to squeeze; they were sold more or less at break even to start with.

Some would disagree.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ner40T3J6T8

atlantis187

Saw this video and Coffey looks clueless as usual.
Nothing will change as long as this government sits back and lets them get away with it same as the utility companies.

Sarahspangles

We all have a ‘personal’ inflation rate because we’re not average, we don’t all buy the exact basket of goods that are used to calculate inflation.  If someone’s food spend is a large part of their budget then their personal inflation rate will be higher.

robrymond

I can't understand why inflation is so high on general grocery products but alcohol is virtually the same price or cheaper. You can buy a decent bottle of wine imported from all over the world for less than the price of mince.

There is still energy costs and ingredients to factor in so I can't understand why inflation isn't affecting alcohol.

sevenhills

robrymond said:

I can't understand why inflation is so high on general grocery products but alcohol is virtually the same price or cheaper. You can buy a decent bottle of wine imported from all over the world for less than the price of mince.

There is still energy costs and ingredients to factor in so I can't understand why inflation isn't affecting alcohol.

But the UK seems to have suffered worse for energy price rises, even though it was Germany that had their gas supply cut and not the UK.
I believe inflation in the USA is around 6% whilst ours is 10%, but is it Argentina that has 100% inflation 

p00hsticks

robrymond said:

I can't understand why inflation is so high on general grocery products but alcohol is virtually the same price or cheaper. You can buy a decent bottle of wine imported from all over the world for less than the price of mince.

There is still energy costs and ingredients to factor in so I can't understand why inflation isn't affecting alcohol.

It's probably not as noticeable for alcohol as with other goods because such as large proportion of the price you pay over the counter is duty, and for whatever reason the government have decided not to increase that for years now....

MikeJXE

77shelf88 said:

     Do you think shops are profiteering while the cost of living is high , as an example i having been a big user of ASDA essential range but in the last few weeks all their prices have gone up by  50% to more than 100%  ie soups went up from 19p to 45p in one go   , cheese from £3.65 to £4.40 even baked beans 19p to 27 p   ,not an essential but dog food pouches from £9.50 to £14.50
      Even cutting out all the slightly nicer items my shop has increased by £30 for less items  use to spend around £60 and now it is around £100, i can not see any decreases across the site and would have hoped they would have kept the rises around the 10%  cost of living rise 

Yes and I only shop at Tesco

A few weeks ago a pack of chock ices were £1, overnight they went up to £1.50

Last week Tesco rich tea were £1.35 for single pack 300g and £3 for double pack 600g, obviously trying to catch you out or justify the coming increase 

Sure enough this week  the single pack 300g was £1.50 

prowla

I've found I am buying from more varied sources, such as speciality & farm shops, because the supermarket prices have gone up (and packet sizes have gone down!) so that they do not represent savings so much.