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Price increases in 2017: Spar vs Pick n Pay vs Shoprite vs Checkers

Staff Writer

 ·21 Jun 2017

Independent consumer website Retail Price Watch has released its latest survey of product prices across South Africa’s biggest chains in four different categories.

The items surveyed were national brands which were selected solely on the basis that they are available from all stores.

The chains surveyed were Checkers, Pick n Pay, Shoprite and Spar. The categories were baking ingredients,beverages, cereals and porridge, and staples.

The average price of each item in May from stores around the country was used to ensure that a single “special” did not unduly weight the overall price of the item.

According to Retail Price Watch, Pick n Pay proved cheaper than the other three stores in all categories, although by a narrow margin in the Cereals and Porridge category, with less than one cent separating it from its nearest rival, Checkers.

Year-on-year, Shoprite showed the biggest total price increase, with the survey showing a 6.2% increase in prices. The smallest increase was seen at Spar, where prices were only 3.4% higher, just below Checkers (3.5%).

“It is noteworthy that only cereal and porridge prices appear to have stabilised or slightly reduced since July last year, while others continue to rise,” said Viccy Baker of Retail Price Watch.

The survey is not a basket of goods but it does present a rare opportunity to compare apples with apples, something stores and suppliers are very keen to prevent consumers from doing, Baker said.

Baker also pointed out the effect of “shrinkflation” – where brands reduce the price of a product, but also the size of the package, giving the illusion of a price drop, but consumers in fact pay more per kg.

“For example, Cremora dropped its 1 kg pack (surveyed last year) for an 800g pack. The price appears to be lower yet if you adjust the price back to the kilogram price, you will find out that you are paying more per gram for the 800 gram pack than you were for the kilogram pack,” Baker said.

She also warned that consumers need to be wary of “specials”, which may be higher than the average price of a product over the month.

“An objective price comparison provides a reality check in demonstrating that prices move in a very narrow band and are similar over time, no matter which store you buy from,” she said.

Retail Price Watch is a consumer website dedicated to providing the latest up-to-date information on consumer good prices across South Africa.

Read: Price war 2017: Woolworths vs Spar vs Pick n Pay vs Checkers