Are supermarkets ripping the piss?

[deegee]

1 hour ago, Leith Green said:

We usually shop in Cameron Toll shopping centre, Edinburgh (Its less Milfwatch, more like dodge the fat fucker on a disability scooter wearing a "I dont need a mask as I have COPD" lanyard).

Local wildlife aside, it has an Aldi and Sainsburys - we start at Aldi, get all the wine, beer, fruit, veg, meat, coffee, other essentials there - then pop into Sainsburys for any branded specifics (son likes chocolate weetabix, etc) or anything out of stock at Aldi.

Dont think its a surprise Aldi has won supermarket of the year, lots of their stuff is excellent quality at good prices.

We also have a Waitrose relatively close, and while the "yummy mummy" quotient is higher, anyone doing their weekly shopping there must be fucking minted (although my Mother in Law tells me the one in Stirling often has discounted stuff toward closing time).

I generally shop in the Waitrose store at Stirling. When the kids were small, it was more likely we’d do the family shop in Aldi or ASDA but tbh Waitrose is generally cheap enough for basic stuff. Where they win hands down and can be expensive is the fancy lines, which are normally better quality anyway. They also do a great range of fresh fish, meats and delicatessen counter which sadly seems to be getting stopped at the likes of Tesco and even many Sainsbury’s shops.
 

If you’re only buying for yourself and the other half, a couple £ extra for some proper carved meats, fresh fish versus frozen or packet muck is a no- brainier if you can stretch to the cost. The veg and fruit are of far better quality, usually last a lot longer so there is normally less wastage too. Their discounted foods are normally a good deal; I can often pick up some fresh fish and veg for dinner at 1/2 price. 
 

I do agree though that Aldi and Lidl can offer superb value and choice on specific departments, mainly bakery and cheeses/ meats, however I find their veg/ fruits are poorer quality and often over packaged in larger sized bags.

[Trackdaybob]

1 hour ago, ICTChris said:

It could get worse if Russia invades Ukraine again this year.

Liz Truss has expressly told them not to. They're about turning as we speak. 

Probably. 

[Arch Stanton]

4 minutes ago, weirdcal said:

Be lucky Scot gov didn't go the Irish method of minimum unit prices. 

 

Are you joking? Scotland was the 1st country in the world to introduce minimum unit pricing. Its currently 50p per unit and there are frequent calls for it to be increased.

[deegee]

1 minute ago, 101 said:

There is a 17 hour queue to get goods into the country and we haven't even started the Brexit checks proper yet.

If you think this is bad, hold onto your hat.

... plus British fruits and veg going to rot (and what reaches shops will increase in price presumably) due to lack of labour is a seasonal issue. Wasn’t it quoted last summer in the press that farmers in East Anglia were offering something mad like £20+ per hour for fruit pickers?

[Arch Stanton]

Anyway, fuck Waitrose, they treat Scotland like a 3rd world country.

[vikingTON]

8 hours ago, peasy23 said:

Long thread on Twitter yesterday about the real rate of inflation, with some supermarket prices going up by well over 100% in the past year.
 

She makes some decent points, but it is talking utter, utter shite here:

Quote

The margins are always, always calculated to squeeze the belts of those who can least afford it, and massage the profits of those who have money to spare. And nothing demonstrates that inequality quite so starkly as tracking the prices of ‘luxury’ food vs ‘actual essentials’. 

Well no, the reason why the margins get squeezed is because the fundamental cost price of a kilo of rice, a bag of apples etc. was never significantly lower than the sale price of a value range product. Now that the cost is higher than the original sale price, the latter increases in lockstep well above wider inflation. There's no moustache-twirling conspiracy required to explain this. 

The UK has in fact enjoyed remarkably low prices for supermarket staples for years. You simply didn't get a kilo of rice for 39p or pasta for 19p equivalent elsewhere - even in multinational chains like Lidl that flog the same stuff. 

[Detournement]

The supermarkets weren't as big winners from Covid as you would think. They don't make any money from stock sold via deliveries and during Covid sales of clothes which have a high profit margin collapsed.

They are now price gouging especially since Asda and Morrisons are now owned by private equity.

[101]

6 minutes ago, deegee said:

... plus British fruits and veg going to rot (and what reaches shops will increase in price presumably) due to lack of labour is a seasonal issue. Wasn’t it quoted last summer in the press that farmers in East Anglia were offering something mad like £20+ per hour for fruit pickers?

What the press say they are offering and what they are actually offering is often quite different. You would have to be an experienced picker for get as much as that an hour.

6 minutes ago, virginton said:

The UK has in fact enjoyed remarkably low prices for supermarket staples for years

This is spot on, however not ideal in the current climate with other price raises and the fact some morons actively voted to whack the prices up.

[Arch Stanton]

In Aldi the Glenmarnoch 12yo is currently £17.99, the Highland, Islay and Speyside are £17.49.

[weirdcal]

27 minutes ago, Arch Stanton said:

Are you joking? Scotland was the 1st country in the world to introduce minimum unit pricing. Its currently 50p per unit and there are frequent calls for it to be increased.

Aye, I am aware but scotland went for 50p. Ireland went for a euro per unit. 

To put it into context, the minimum wage here rose 50c an hour. Your average cheap bottle of wine rose 2-3 euro at the same time (ciders that have never met an apple with silly % went up about 6-7€). 

And I think similar to scotland its not a tax, so whilst vat here is 23%, it means any increase goes next to nowhere. 

[tamthebam]

Where they do take the piss is that stuff in the small stores- Tesco Metro- is often dearer than if you buy the same stuff in one of their bigger stores.

[paranoid android]

9 hours ago, peasy23 said:

 

Worst blues song ever. 

[peasy23]

Where they do take the piss is that stuff in the small stores- Tesco Metro- is often dearer than if you buy the same stuff in one of their bigger stores.

Round our way we have a small Co-op and a NISA, the latter sells the Co-op branded stuff at a higher price.

[Melanius Mullarkey]

I blame the staff.

Especially the ones in Tesco.

Specifically the Kingsway Branch in Dundee. 

[Sergeant Wilson]

3 hours ago, superbigal said:

Tescos finest meal deal still a tenner. Bottle of average plonk, main meal for 2, a side, and a pudding.
 

I'd get that if I was on my own.

2 hours ago, Trackdaybob said:

Liz Truss has expressly told them not to. They're about turning as we speak. 

Probably. 

I hope there is a war. It's about time you did some work.

[velo army]

Saw the thread title, so who the OP was and I was rubbing my hands in anticipation of another heid's gone around trolleys or somesuch.

Gutted to see a semi sensible and topical discussion break out.

[Bonksy+HisChristianParade]

‘Depressing places to go into’ - f**k off man  

Aldi is great, brilliant prices. Sometimes doesn’t have all the ingredients you need though, and the checkouts are a pain.

Recently I got a voucher for M&S and did a food shop, the food there is class. When I worked there during uni in the food section there used to be people coming in to do their weekly shop there and the amount of money they were spending was mental.

[Dan Steele]

Some supermarkets are definitely at it - Tesco in particular with their 'loyalty' clubcard. Their adverts bleat on about the great savings with the clubcard but with massive cuts to loads of items they're not offering loss-leaders. They'll still be making their great profits. In effect they're making even more money when those without a clubcard shop there. I avoid all Tesco and shop in Lidl where the quality and variety of fruit & veg is really good (and not all wrapped in plastic), the bakery goods are excellent, and their specials can sometimes be well worth the money. Thinking on the Ben Bracken 16yo Islay Single Malt here.

[SlipperyP]

Too the OP, this is happening in most coutries.

We are/have going through WAR times.

Pork in my country has gone 200%  means the eggs have gone up.....chickn you know

[Thorongil]

1 hour ago, oaksoft said:

Not noticed any significant difference yet although now that we are empty nesters we've improved the quality of what we are eating rather than cutting back (a lot more fresh meat now) so we're spending around the same amount each week.

I just wish Lidl would introduce bigger shops and bring in self-service because I hate queueing for a staff member but going there at 9.30pm seems to stop those problems.

Also wish they could make their stores look a bit less 1980 as they are depressing places to go into but I suppose if they did that they wouldn't be so cheap. It is great not to have to choose between 18 brands of baked beans though. 

Lidl shops are hovels compared to Aldi but is Lidl any cheaper? I’ve wondered in the past about the Lidl aesthetic.