Supermarket shop really expensive all of a sudden

[Lockdownhair]

I have a very good husband who normally queues for the supermarket shop so I admit I have not really realised how expensive it has all become. Today I did it for the first time in weeks, in Morrisons & Sainsburys, and have certainly woke up & smelt the coffee! Is it just me or are they taking advantage of the situation? My supermarket shop seemed so expensive today. Even the Co op has become as dear as Waitrose for some things. Once this is all over & greedy consumerism returns they're going to have to become a bit more competitive with each other. There doesn't seem to be a shortage of most things like I imagined there to be, so why the big hike when a lot of people are going to be struggling financially? I meal plan & don't waste food. Is anyone managing to keep their supermarket shop reasonable?

I'd like a trip to M&S, miss their food. Don't go every week but do go regularly for some treats. That does sound Sapphos except for the £40 carrots, I think they did you there

YANBU. I've said this to DH. We usually buy value brands, but they're currently rarely available, so we're having to buy an alternative which is two or three times that price. We're also eating all meals at home and the kids are snacking a lot more than when they have packed lunches at school. Like others, we would normally shop across a number of shops to get best value for us, but are pretty much restricted to our local supermarket due to the queuing. Also buying things in case we run out whereas normally I'd think ah, if it doesn't last I can nip in for replacements, but if it's there it gets eaten.

Just as well we're saving travel money by working from home as it all seems to go on food!

I keep thinking the NHS discount of 20% off needs to be offered to people on really low incomes instead.

I've noticed a large rise on our bills, we aren't rich but lucky we have wriggle room. People who live on extremely strict budgets just won't have that. I'm expecting an increase in our utility bills too because we've been in a lot more and using more tech. I'm absolutely dreading that bill, coupled with the increased shopping budget it will be difficult

100% agree! Also much less special offers I thought too.

Prices have definitely gone up - but if you think this is bad, brace yourself for what happens after no deal Brexit.

I miss the cleaning stuff at the pound shop.

@WhatWouldYouDoWhatWouldJesusDo where offers 20% for NHS I’ve not seen anything about that?

Clearly, not many of you have done your "normal" weekly shop in France for the last few years! £3.50 for a small white cabbage, in Lidl, was an eye-opener. The UK is an incredibly price-sensitive market and big retailers are as keen to maintain market share as sales. But at the moment, prices are going up for several reasons.

Supply chains are much more expensive to manage with social distancing.

We're in the "hungry gap". It happens every year when the home grown root vegetable crops run out and the leafy above ground vegetables are not fully on stream. Eating seasonal food when there's a glut brings down prices, but if you have to have x item out of season, when air freight capacity is limited, then the price will soar.

Farmers can't bring in seasonal labour from Eastern Europe to pick and pack what is growing in the numbers needed, so labour costs are up.

Buy as much as possible locally and as direct as possible. Our local butcher has farms and an abbatoir, and now takes orders over the phone. They cut and weigh and call to take payment, then you can collect. But it costs more to run this system. Nevertheless it's worth it, and prices are only a small % higher, but I bet Harrods (for whom they are the main meat supplier) has raised prices.

Between the butcher, the freezer, our local growers' distribution hub and Lidl, I almost never need to go to the supermarket for anything other than ITC pharmacy, juice, loo paper and cleaning products. Our food bill is up, but we also now have to eat every meal at home. Do not mention the wine bill; that's just embarrassing!

@WhatWouldYouDoWhatWouldJesusDo Sun 10-May-20 18:52:11
I'm expecting an increase in our utility bills too because we've been in a lot more and using more tech. I'm absolutely dreading that bill, coupled with the increased shopping budget it will be difficult

I'm dreading seeing our electricity payments when the supplier reviews our usage, two of us working from home and two teens on tech every day! I'm just grateful the weather has been mostly mild so the heating hasn't been on much more than it usually would be during the day.

Yanbu I’ve noticed this for weeks. There just aren’t the offers that there were.

Some items in my Sainsbury shop have gone up by more than 20% since last week.
I am going to cancel and brave Lidl or Aldi

I've always shopped at markses because it works out cheaper for a lot of the stuff we buy than sainsburys. A lot of their stuff is nicer and keeps better, too, though sainsburys win on a few things like apples, chillis and tenderstem broccoli!

Checkout operator here.
A lot of multipack offers aren't available now, so (for example) instead of a 4 or 6 pack of beans, you have to buy them separately if you want that amount of tins. l buy Robinson's barley water which helps me to drink more water. lt's usually £1.50 a bottle or 2 for £2.50, sometimes on offer for £1 a bottle, which is when l tend to stock up. There haven't been any offers on it for a while now. And that's just one item.
Also, a lot of my customers have said that they're spending a lot more because of the one way system - our store has one, and in effect, you have to go up one aisle and down the next. So if people are following the protocol, they're likely walking the length of aisles they'd normally just go to a small area of for one or two items, and therefore are much more likely to pick up items they wouldn't normally buy or even see.
This is besides so many people also saying that "the kids don't stop eating". One lady at my till today spent £120, and she looked genuinely shocked, she said "at least it's better than last week, l spent £150 then."

Ha 1forsorrow yes £40 carrots is a bit steep.

Forgot to mention some M&S cleaning products are £1 too - window cleaner etc

Couldn't find dishwasher tablets under £13 on Friday.

Coffee pods much more expensive.

Ditto cleaning materials.

Saving on petrol and heating oil though....

Clearly, not many of you have done your "normal" weekly shop in France for the last few years!

Well clearly we’re talking about the UK where lots of people were struggling to afford their shopping already

@pointythings Uh-oh, you said the "B" word. Anyway, we all know it'll be unicorns and sunny uplands all the way after that monumental event! Not to mention blue passports, yayy. That's if any other country ever lets us in again after our stunning handling of COVID-19....

The likelihood is that we are now in for accelerated hyperinflation and reduced supply in food and other things like medicines (anyone who's doubtful on that last one might like to look at where the raw materials come from and where many major pharmaceutical companies are based. Hint - it's not usually England though there are one or two in Ireland, I believe.)

I'm anticipating something a bit like 1970s Russia but not quite as joyous.

I'm also curious about this 20% NHS discount thing a few people have mentioned - around 60% of my friends and family are in healthcare, what is this 20% discount of which you speak??? As they'd love to know about it! (And no, they're not consultants and high-flying public health spokesbods, they're mainly HCAs, catering staff, and a couple of registered nurses towards the bottom of the scale.)

The price has certainly gone up. It has gone up a little extra for me as dh is the one doing shopping since lockdown. I’m more frugal than he is, but the receipts don’t lie.

I've noticed that Tesco don't seem to have as many own brand products on the shelves, its all expensive branded stuff which I guess is easier for them to source at the moment. Doesn't help my wallet though.

So many things have gone up, and not just in supermarkets. Our regular dried dog food has gone up 10% Cat food had increased. The local vegetable box scheme has gone up by over 20% Dairy products seem to have shot up in price too.

Petrol's gone down I suppose.

My shopping has been much more expensive.

I have been fortunate to get a few online delivery slots but I usually shop at Lidl or Aldi plus I would sometimes pop to the supermarkets in the evening and pick up some bargain reduced items.

As well as the rising prices and lack of offers online shopping means it is too easy to add more things to the basket if you are browsing the website and not knowing if or when I might get another delivery slot it makes sense to stock up.

It's so unfair that supermarkets have done this to us just now, most folk are living with less money and more money worries, and shafting us as they know we can't shop around is really unfair.

Aldi is fine. If you’re not brand conscious you can still get a good trolley full of stuff for a decent price. We are eating a lot more veg, rice and lentils and less meat and fish, but that’s not a bad thing. We are getting through more milk, bread, coffee, pasta with us all being at home, but not seeing a huge rise otherwise if I’m honest.

"Taking advantage" is emotive and ignores the fact that supermarkets will have much higher costs.

: - to rely on more overtime as many staff will be sick/ isolating. (They will be paying a % of their salaries).
PPE has to be provided - it is expensive and suddenly everyone needs it.
Extra cleaning, (time and chemicals).
No strawberries from Spain or beans from Kenya - contracts have to be found, agreed, new transport and supply lines have to be found.
Longer opening hours for fewer customers
A lot of food will be wasted as people have not been able to harvest or distribute it. And many other reasons

On a positive, and i try to see a positive in most of this shit, less waste, those sausage that’s now cost 2.95 and we’re two packs for four quid mean we make a meal from them rather than eat an extra one each and eat high salt, fatty food for breakfast too.

Less pigs die, less environmental impact, less obesity, less waste.

Win win.

Er, no - still eat the same amount, just costs more