SUPERMARKET FOOD prices have dropped by as much as 20 per cent across the board as consumers reap the benefits of the retail price war, the latest survey by the National Consumer Agency (NCA) shows.
Dunnes Stores has lowered its prices on well-known brands to match Tesco’s high-profile “change for good” cost-cutting strategy, leaving the country’s two main retailers running neck-and-neck on price, the survey reveals.
However, Dunnes is falling behind its UK-owned rival on the price of own-brand goods, and Tesco has closed the gap on the discounters, Lidl and Aldi.
NCA chief executive Ann Fitzgerald welcomed the increased competition in the grocery market but said prices should have dropped a long time ago. Consumers wanted everyday low prices rather than high prices with special promotions, she said.
Shoppers could get the best value by astutely splitting their purchases between different retailers, she advised.
An earlier consumer agency survey showed a price gap of about 30 per cent between shops in the Republic and Northern Ireland, but Ms Fitzgerald said the agency would not be carrying out another cross-Border survey because of “resource problems”. It was up to shoppers to judge for themselves whether going to the North to shop was worth it.
Tesco’s prices on branded goods are down 15 per cent since January in stores when the company’s “change for good” strategy has been introduced, Dunnes have fallen by 14 per cent and Superquinn recorded a drop of 8 per cent, according to the survey.
When alcohol was excluded from the basket, Tesco’s prices were down almost 21 per cent, Dunnes’s fell 18.5 per cent and Superquinn’s were down almost 10 per cent.
For own-brand goods, Tesco’s prices were down 15 per cent, Aldi’s fell 11.6 per cent, Lidl’s dropped 10.6 per cent while Dunnes reduced prices by just 0.7 per cent.
SuperValu, which is charging lower prices in its Border stores, is cheaper than Superquinn but dearer than the two market leaders. Among the discounters, there is little difference in price between Lidl and Aldi.
Wide variations in the prices of some items emerged from the survey. For example, a tub of Muller Crunch Corner costs almost three times the price in Spar in Dublin compared with Tesco (€1.15 against €0.39). A 1-litre pack of Tropicana orange juice cost €1.99 in Dunnes but €4.99 in Spar Dublin.
The survey was carried out in 12 retailers in late June and involved a total basket of 220 branded and own-brand goods. Price alone was measured, and no account was paid to factors such as quality, convenience, customer service or food miles.
This is the seventh price survey carried out by the consumer agency but Ms Fitzgerald said the it would like to “go beyond” the survey by developing a shopping comparison website displaying real-time information about prices in all the main stores. Separate research carried out by the agency shows shoppers are buying less and are more cost-conscious, and half have changed their retail habits since the start of the year.
Prices: how the stores compare
The survey priced a basket of 68 goods in each store:
Dunnes €214.99
Tesco €215.11
Superquinn €223.53
Almost half the items surveyed had the same price in all three stores.