Data Analysis: How are grocery stores doing compared to 2022?

photo: 123 RF

What happens if prices at the supermarket checkout keep rising but your budget doesn’t?

In our latest issue Checkpoint’In our new series Crunching the Numbers, we’ve dug into the details of our weekly shopping at Countdown and PAK’n SAVE to see how much shopping prices have risen since 2022.

It’s no secret New Zealanders are feeling the pinch, so RNZ asked shoppers how much they spend on their weekly shopping trip.

One woman said it would cost $200 for a family of four. Another shopper said it would cost $500 for their family of four with three teenagers.

One single retiree said he typically pays $100 a week.

Over the past two years, Checkpoints It has been tracking the prices of 36 supermarket items in the same area.

Our first purchase at Greenlane Countdown in May 2022 cost us $238, while the same items at PAK’n SAVE Royal Oak cost us $217.

Two years later, the price at the same store at Countdown Greenlane had jumped to $289, while at PAK’n SAVE it had soared to $256.

Shoppers told Checkpoints They put the merchandise outside the cart.

One shopper said she buys her fruit and vegetables at her local greengrocer, where they are “much cheaper”.

Another parent said she tried buying in bulk and told her children “they have to have baked beans and instant noodles”.

Seasonal vegetables such as carrots and cauliflower are cheaper compared to what we will be shopping for in 2022. 1kg of cheese costs about $10 or less in both supermarkets, and milk prices remain the same or slightly lower.

But these are exceptions — most items on the shopping list cost more.

Shoppers RNZ spoke to said the price was too high for them. “For a single person on a pension, $20 to $30, I think it’s easy.” Another shopper said the price had increased by 25 per cent.

Prices for washing and cleaning products have been higher. A pack of 48 Finish dishwashing tablets is $36 at Countdown Greenlane, $11 more than in 2022. Meanwhile, the price of 4kg of Persil Sensitive laundry detergent has jumped from $22 at both supermarkets in 2022 to $35 at Countdown and $28 at PAK’n SAVE.

At PAK’n SAVE, the price of a 50-pack of Twinning Earl Grey tea more than doubled to $7.70, while staples such as rice, noodles, tinned tomatoes and beans were more expensive at both stores. At Countdown, the price of a 1kg bag of Fresh and Fruity plain yoghurt more than doubled to $7.40.

The humble minced meat is not so humble anymore.

At PAK’n SAVE, it was $11.99 a kilogram. It’s now $14.99 a kilogram. At Countdown, the price has increased from $14.90 in 2022 to $16.90 now.

Some shoppers told ABC New Zealand it had become a luxury they could no longer afford.

“It’s almost impossible to put meat in front of a teenage boy – a steak – it’s too expensive.

“It’s terrible that we’re buying C-grade meat and paying A-grade prices.”

Flour and sugar are also more expensive for bakers, with a dozen Countdown brand barn eggs costing up to $9. The cheapest eggs from PAk’n SAVE are priced at $7.99.

Butter is no longer an affordable staple, with the cheapest butter at both stores costing more than $6.

In the toiletries section, a litre of Palmolive shower gel costs an extra $4.30 at Countdown, while Huggies size 3 nappies cost an extra $7 at PAK’n SAVE, now costing $23.99.

With a new Commerce Commission report into supermarket profits due next month, the shoppers say the report is imminent.