What can we do about supermarket prices?

elljay

Yes that was one of the things I was thinking about as I wandered round the Co-op, knowing that in that town a high proportion of older people seem to shop there. There didn't seem to be any greater number of small portions of things than in Morrisons. And of course as I said originally, the small box of washing powder is really expensive but my lady bought it as it was small and she could afford it and carry it home. The co-op used to run a free bus around town when they first moved to the outskirts but have since stopped it.

L

chuckles1066

elljay wrote: »

The co-op used to run a free bus around town when they first moved to the outskirts but have since stopped it.

L

I swear this is true; my local Tesco used to run a free bus service but they abandoned it because they found out the cheeky old bu*gers were using it as a free ride to the local bingo!

uktim29

andyrules wrote: »

Well to get back to the op - supermarkets CAN help the elderly and other lone people by offering more small packs of products. Not everyone is buying for a family, but of course that is the supermarket's ideal target customer.

It's supply and demand. If you have a store that has room for 10,000 products you'll sell the 10,000 products your customers want the most. If a small pack doesn't make the top 10,000 then you won't stock it. You'll constantly swap your bottom 100/200 sellers with other lines just incase something else might sell better.

So if small packs don't have enough demand for the size of the store then theres no point in stocking them. If you substitute a line for a slower selling line you'll have more unhappy customers than if you keep the original line.

elljay

This, about possible corrupt dealings between buyer and supplier, is interesting in view of the previous discussion.

Liz

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7299119.stm

jackieb

Isn't there a dial-a-bus scheme where you live?

hollydays

There are mimi buses where I live that take elderly people to the supermarket etc..free.

elljay

I don't know about any dial a bus schemes, I don't live in the same place as the lady I originally met. As I said, there was originally a Co-op free bus (which made everyone think how public-spirited they are) until the Co-op realised people were using it generally to get around town, not just for trips to their store and so they stopped it. (Which shows it's nothing to do with being public-spirited and everything to do with profits)

Liz - sadly off to work now!

unrich

Cauliflowers are in season at the moment. When did you see this mythical Asda Uruguay cauliflower? June/July?

The Uruguay cauli doesn't pay fuel duty for the 1000s of miles it travels by air. It is, in effect, subsidised by the taxpayer and a floretal tribute to climate change.

Eating in season keeps costs right down.

---

The Supermarket's role is to produce shareholder profit. The consumer is simply there to be milked for the maximum margin possible.

perhaps: Join start an organization where you can influence what they do. Possibly one that has a national presence and has a retail operation. When you are a member persuade them to stock really unpopular sizes of outdated and outmoded products and sell them at a modest profit. You could then hear the customer moan when they get what they want. You could call it the co-op.

Or you could get an allotment. You can only moan to yourself about the poor quality and high cost of produce. You worry about where to get good quality muck. My asparagus is due in a month.

The little old lady probably only wants the prunes to help her "go" as she doesn't eat a well balanced diet in the first place.

Clowance

a few weeks ago I went to a farm shop which is the nearest one to me (actually the only one I know of, even though I live in Dorset); they sold eggs by the tray. I have no idea if they were produced on the farm, but they were £3 for 30 variable sized eggs, a pretty good price. However they were not marked free range although I think people would have ASSUMED that they were.
They also sold lots of packaged foods, fruit and veg (expensive and certainly not local) and had a butchers shop which looked great but also very expensive.

Even the local pick your own in the summer is as dear as buying the stuff ready picked from the supermarket, although fresher obviously This is really taking the p!

So what is the incentive for people to drive for miles out of their way to buy from farmers? I would do this if I could get stuff a little cheaper and still give the farmers a decent profit for their own produce, not somebody elses.

Freddie_Snowbits

I never buy meat from a supermarket. take my last visit to Waitrose. Chicken Breast £7.99 a kilo, (1/3 off) Local butcher £7.49 a kilo)

Cadbury's mini eggs, Tesco nearly a pound (visited in Feb, next vist due in May), Co-Op 79p! Every little ....

No do I use Farm Shops, they have got on the badn wagon now!

Tesco points in 2008 215, of which 200 came from vouchers, 5 from green bags! target for 2008 750, of which 600 come from free points.