Noticed Supermarkets feel glum?

[Neverendingdust]

I don’t think I’m imagining this but I’ve started to notice over the last month or two an almost gloomy muted atmosphere in the supermarkets where I live. It’s pretty noticeable that people are now conscious of the rising prices, the mood is almost somber and tense as they’re shopping. Has anyone else noticed similar? M&S, Sainsburys, Tesco and Co Op all feel very different, you can tell people are worried about the prices they’re seeing.

That excitement of popping treats into the trolley has gone for so many, doing the weekly shop has now become a challenge to simply spend the least amount but make the shop last longer. Peoples behaviour has changed massively.

Does anyone work in any of the stores and noticed the same?

It's just ice cream. They were expensive when they launched because it was something different so they could get away with it. Vienetta used to be expensive too, back in the day.

Re Co-op, yes it's convenience, also the food is pretty good quality. I don't think it's good enough value that it makes sense to do a full shop there all the time but the quality is good enough that most people who go there will find one or two products that they really like so will return for those and pick up a few other bits while they're there to save going somewhere that takes more effort/time. Maybe.

@Sux2buthen lol so did I!

I don't think a lot of people are aware of the OLIO app. It helps with food waste and saving money. Bread items, fruit and veg are on their everyday. You can freeze alot of stuff like stir fry's etc.

Yep

I work in a coop in a rural area no competition for customers and the weekly price rises are huge. There has definitely been a change in how people shop, however we see huge amounts of visitors during the sumner season and sales are up for the store. I think come winter though the sales will definitely drop.

It's just ice cream. They were expensive when they launched because it was something different so they could get away with it

You still can’t get a box of four into a supermarket freezer for less than £1. Once more, does anybody genuinely think that supermarkets should sell at a loss, or manufacturers produce goods at a loss, to maintain stupidly low prices? I might have a bit more sympathy if we were talking about a staple, like bread, rather than choc ices but I still don’t expect anybody to sell or produce food for no profit.

Supermarkets aren't losing money, even when they have loss leaders like cheap ice cream.

I do agree with you that cheap food can be problematic, due to pricing patterns and structures and cartel like behaviours that generally over the past 20 years or so in particular have ended up shafting eg domestic dairy farmers and over the past say 50 years have ended up shafting first industrial wave countries and the global south (who were already disadvantaged via GB empire).

I am sceptical though that the current rise in prices will do anything positive about any of that as it's driven by shortages and inflationary economic pressures and producers themselves aren't particularly benefiting.

I wouldn’t expect the supermarkets to lose money. They are businesses. Which means that they can’t absorb increases in food prices.

Previous posters have complained that the supermarkets are, in their opinion and based on no evidence, making ‘massive profits’ from the rising cost of food. Meaning that that poster, and others, think that it’s the retailer’s job to hold prices steady and absorb the impact for consumers. It isn’t

The OP complains that supermarkets ‘feel glum’, referencing her disappointment at having to pay more for ‘treats’. She later clarified that she is disappointed at not being able to buy a box of four Mars bar ice creams for £1, instead having to pay the outrageous sum of £1.75. Which she claims led to the boxes remaining unsold. Come off it!

We’re all a bit too used to super cheap food, and to not asking questions about why it is so cheap. But everyone wants carbon emissions to drop, of course, and animal welfare, and for farmers to earn more. They just don’t want to pay more to bring those things about, even before we had an energy price shock and war in Ukraine and Brexit..

1kg of porridge oats is 1.49 in Morrisons and 70p in Aldi, mind boggling.

Those saying supermarkets are profiteering, there is potentially some of that in there, but that’s what you get with a capitalist system. They will protect profits.

the question is when prices go up who eats the cost? The producer, the seller or the buyer. In a fair world each would split it equitably however as seen with the recent Tesco and Heinz battles what were once private disagreements are spilling over into public. Supermarkets will do what they can to keep prices down and often this means shitting on the little guy so that they can provide it to us as their lowest price (while maintaining margin)

there is plenty of competition in this area and people are not as loyal as they used to be.

Different brands taste different though, I only like Flahavans and DH likes Scott's so we buy both

Nobody was getting excited for their weekly shop even when they had lots of money 🤦‍♀️

We seem to have had cheap food, cheap clothes, cheap homewares etc in this country for a good few years. There have always been the more expensive (better quality?) items but there was probably more choice. I feel we've been lucky and it couldn't last forever

The High Street is dying because they won't price match against Amazon and other major online retailers

Amazon is much more expensive than the High Street nowadays.

The reason our high street is going to die is because the council has just removed EVERY parking space along it, they can't even get deliveries. The spaces are now cycling lanes with bollard things and it's on a hill and quite empty. The nearby side streets are mostly residents' parking. There are perfectly good routes already for cyclists in quiet back streets and there could be more but that doesn't fit the remit of preventing driving. Even electric cars can't park. And they want to support local businesses, Ideology gone mad!

Same here. It's ridiculous

Ive noticed it OP. Everyone is being much more careful and hesitant to put things in the trolley in our Aldi.
That’s When there’s something to put in the trolley- this Thursday evening there was hardly any veg or fruit, I’ve given up trying to get natural yoghurt, half the alcohol shelves are empty, as are bottled drinks. Nappies are extremely low stock and freezers have only a couple of items in them. Bread is much reduced. Pickles were in short supply too.

I often manage to fill gaps via going to other shops for those bits, but sometimes it’s just impossible.

DH has taken to asking each week what supermarket roulette has decreed we can’t have now. This week it’s mild curry powder and tamarind paste. Not the end of the world but annoying. But we’re away this weekend so I’m hoping to get some where we are going.

I was in Aldi yesterday. The same shampoo I paid 89p for on Saturday was £1.19. I bought 3 bottles to stock up before the price increases even more.
I also stocked up on cereal, toilet roll, toothpaste and beach as the cheaper options all are often not available when I shop on my normal Saturday afternoon.

Is it? Not for many thing I buy. I often price compare when I see something I like in a shop. It's almost always cheaper or comparable on Amazon.

In Sainsburys this morning we noticed pensioners were being careful about what they bought. An example, we used to like Charlie Bigham Chicken Korma. A year or so ago it was £5.50. Today it was £8.95. So that's off the list now.

No

I notice the alarming amount of gaps this week. I’ve been doing a tesco click and collect since covid as it’s more convenient for me but needed to pop in for the first time for a few extra items and was shocked by the amount of missing products. I guess most people have got used to the empty shelves of the year but it was a shock to me.

I'm in central London and there's definitely a different mood in the supermarkets. I'm not surprised, people - and me included - are terrified of the price rises. How much more will this crap government force us to endure before bedlam breaks out. I forsee huge social unrest - starving people do desperate things.

As opposed to last month when they were buying champagne and scallops, you mean? I think that you are assigning meanings to standard behaviour., to suit your worldview.

As for Charlie Bigham stuff, that’s always been expensive. That going up in price is hardly hitting the poor and needy.

I have noticed the Supermarket I shop in is far less busy. And thats different hours of the day that I have visited. I dont think people have the money to visit these Supermarkets so often now. It will get worst come October when more people will have to way up whether to keep warm or eat.

I was in a Waitrose yesterday and it seemed very quiet compared to how it used to be. Holiday time maybe ? I got some good yellow sticker finds while I was there though.

I went to Asda today. It didn't seem glum - but just in case people were feeling down, I cheered them up with a great dance routine to Dancing Queen in the chilled food aisle. If you saw me, I hope it made you feel better! 💕