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?

Charlie Bigham! I consider I have a fair amount of disposable income but I never buy Charlie Bigham unless it's yellow labelled. And not even then. Its not that great anyway but I'm not paying £6.99 for some veggie lasagne. And it was that price before covid. I mean if people on their uppers are buying Charlie Bigham, they need to have some financial mgt lessons.

i agree my local Sainsburys has got rid of most of the checkouts and replaced them with self service checkouts. Staff seem miserable In there. People seem to be buying bits rather than a weeks shop.

Me too, quite recently in Tesco.
When the shop assistant appeared, accompanied by the security guard, a largish crowd (25-30 people) just dived into the reduced section like a rugby scrum.
I had never witnessed anything like that before (with the exception of the toilet roll aisle during the lockdown) and I live in a reasonably affluent area. I just scurried on by to the next aisle before I got flattened in the rush !😧
Sadly I think this will be a regular sight over the coming year or so.

Lidl’s is fine

I was in Waitrose this afternoon and noted that the price of their Essential baked beans (400g) had risen by 28.57% from 35p to 45p and there is no more buy 4 for 1.20 type pricing. Their 250g cherry tomatoes on the vine are £3 whereas M&S 250g Piccolino vine tomatoes are £2.50. Their small plastic thingys of whole milk are 83p (equivalent to 0.55litres) whereas in M&S I can buy 2 litres of premium gold label milk only from Jersey and Guernsey cows for £1.45 (used to be £1.30 for years) which is far far creamier and superior.
Loose Fairtrade bananas are 11p per kilo cheaper in M&S and the quality is much better and M&S ripe yellow flesh nectarines in packs of 4 are £2.50 but the same are £3 in Waitrose.
Clarence Court Burford Brown eggs of various box sizes are cheaper in M&S.
I shop in both stores almost exclusively as they're nearest to me but M&S wins hands down on quality and price.
I rang Waitrose CS and mentioned the price differences and he said they'd had a lot of calls saying the same thing which he'd noted and contacted their buying department about it. He added my comments to another buying department email.
I mean, how can a tin of basic brand baked beans jump 28.57% higher in 3 weeks? It's ridiculous.
The OP has hit the nail on the head when she mentions the atmosphere in supermarkets.
It certainly is glum faces all round.

I might add that even the yellow stickered items were ludicrous prices. 4 peaches for £3.50 down from £3.99 and bread reduced by 10p not DOWN to 10p. Crazy...

I've always watched the pennies.
No point in wasting money.
I do find it odd the coffee shops are still getting trade. 2 coffees a week in a coffee shop could get most of my veg for the week.
So some will be suffering if they can’t budget.
2 coffees a week, a couple of sandwiches to buy in the cafe would buy all my food for the week.
So I can see how some will struggle.
l learned long ago the cheapest breakfast is supermarket own brand of oats. If it’s reduced I’ll consider it.
I don’t live a miserable life, I just don’t like being in debt and I’m not. So I will continue to be careful and only buy what I need with a treat each week. Not a daily treat.

I rarely find any bargains amongst the yellow stickered stuff...it's usually a saving of a few pence.

The good thing about the yellow stickered stuff (at least where I shop) is that it gets donated to charity at the end of the night if it's not sold.

I do find it odd the coffee shops are still getting trade

Yes. The queue for the drive through Costa near us regularly blocks the road. You often can’t get into the retail park past the queue to drive through McDonalds. You often can’t get a reservation in the better restaurants in Manchester.

Not so much in aldi. But I was shocked when I seen packs of 6 jellies for £3.50.😱😱😱

Real Londoners don’t shop on those shops anyway

I agree
its August and we are all on holiday

Yes…that together with half empty aisles….Sainsburys with cardboard adverts filling too many empty shelves…not being able to quite a few items and ever increasing prices. I last bought cooking oil a month ago…a couple of litres for £3 odd….today…same one nearly £7! Prices rise as you blink….what with suggestions the average price for heating a home will be approaching £500 a month soon….nothing to smile about…and I live in Berkshire….hardly an area with a lot of poverty.

It’s hard to be cheerful when you’re being ripped off in every single product. Tesco own brand peanut butter now £1.09. Used to be 67p. This is the cheapest value brand.
Empty shelves too. Hardly any cereal in. I think families are starting to have cereal as a meal.

I read today Sunak admitting that money for poor areas has been diverted intentionally, to the better off Tory areas….the difference between the haves and have nots is now the biggest gap in living memory. So not surprised the wealthy enjoying the spoils of their wealth…whilst teachers and nurses working full time need the help of food banks…what an indictment on this country.

Actually I bet there are a LOT of folks in tears, even if its inside, we have so little left to spend on food BEFORE this price hike thing started now its gotten to the point we can only afford one meal 3 or 4 times a week. I actually passed out briefly last week when I went shopping as the sheer stress of knowing prices had risen yet again and realising that I couldn't even supply those few meals that week really got to me, and prior to this I was quite a tough get on with it cookie. It's all too real now and oh so scarey. One more hike and we will be starving.......and we haven't even gotten through Aug yet

Yes, I agree about the changed atmosphere at the supermarket. Lots of empty spaces. Certain products out of stock for weeks on end. Fruit, veg and bread going off quicker. Aldi fruit and veg was always great quality but lately a definite change for the worse. Co-op prices (my nearest big supermarket) seem to be double most normal prices. I can't afford to shop there any more (I live rurally). I'm genuinely scared of what the future holds and just how many people will be forced into poverty. When will people realise the Tories only look after the wealthy?
We are being royally shafted by the energy and oil companies. Just look at their profits. It's obscene and immoral.

Lidl has got a lot busier than Tesco all of a sudden.,.Tesco used to always be rammed.

It's not as bad as the start of covid days though when everyone was filling their trolleys and staring wild eyed at the other shoppers, catching our eyes and shaking heads and saying 'crazy, this is crazy' as though were the only two sane people in the shop and our baskets weren't full of emergency supplies ie pasta, noodles, wine and soap like everyone else

I went to Lidl today for the first time in a while and was thinking how surprising it is that inflation is recorded as low as it is — all the staples I buy there must be up 15-20%. I don’t notice so much with the more expensive stuff as it’s always Waitrose yellow label on its third reduction - I live a about a mile away from a Waitrose and it’s a nice walk to get there so quick cruise of the fridges suits my evening.

I don't think we've seen the worst of this yet. Come October it's going to be carnage. My belief is that we could see social unrest on the scale of the poll tax riots....or worse.

How can a supermarket feel glum? Are they sentient now? 🤔🤣

They were always a miserable place for humans to be. Hence the popularity of deliveries.

No. I started shopping at Lidl a bit more after a £20 voucher for switching my car insurance via confused.com and was surprised that the apparently lone member of staff in the store - early 20's woman who was clearly working her a** off - was so helpful - she was flitting between wheeling a pallet truck around, stacking shelves and was on the till. I didn't notice anything glum about the demeanour of other shoppers.

Noooo. I love going to a supermarket. There's always music to sing and dance to, as well. Clothes, make up, housewares. I did notice earlier in the year, a tremendous dearth of crisps but now they're all stocked up nicely. 😊

I live in a wealthy area, where folk load up their trolleys with best of everything. Rich retirees (okay then, Boomers!). Families & young folk don’t do to the same extent, but do have money. I do well with the yellow stickers!