Am I just stuck in the past or are price increases recently out of control?

[newire]

I am late 40’s and so there is some change my idea of prices are stuck in the past but my DH had a day off yesterday and we went up to town to go to a film and then dinner at very basic but nice Greek place, we got up to town early so went to a café for a cup of tea and a bit of cake to share. By the time we got home we had spent £100. In 2019 we could have done the exact same evening out for half of that. Which does leave me feeling like the goal posts have been moved quite a bit.

Obviously, I know prices go up, that hospitality is under a lot of pressure but prior to this it took more like 20 years for prices to double and now they have doubled in the past 4 or 5 years and it shows little sign of slowing down. Same with anything you buy, a new paperback book can be £15! It feels like Tea is more expensive every week.

Like I say I know prices go up but am I crazy to feel that things have gone up excessively? Even though inflation is supposed to be falling the price of products and services never seems to fall. Or am I just getting old and stuck in the past?

The really sad thing about this is that those in hospitality businesses are actually making less and less profit. The price increases in rents utilities, national insurance, wages, oil, raw ingredients, building maintainence and beer and alcohol for the average pub and restaurant has rocketed in previously unseen levels since covid. People left the sector in droves and lots never returned, so you also have to train people from a more basic level. Peoples habits also changed drastically…and never reverted back. Add to that the knock on effects of brexit.
Hospitality, especially the pub branch of hospitality, is on its knees in this country, and this government, and the last, are doing nothing to support it at all.

Good point.

I totally agree with you. I went for lunch with my mum a couple of weeks ago and a gyros wrap was almost £20. Last time I was in that restaurant at lunchtime it was £13. Street food at markets that was £5-7 a few years ago is now £10+. Prices have gone up horrendously but I think it’s a combination of factors eg food prices have gone up exponentially in the last few years, utilities are hugely more expensive, and minimum wage has increased at a far faster rate than other salaries. (When I started my current job, I was paid double what I would have earned for a 37 hour week at minimum wage. Now it’s only about 25% more.)

And yet every cafe and restaurant l try and go to is packed out. Often l walk away because there’s too many people.

I don’t understand it.

I agree,

We've pretty much stopped buying chocolate now as Cadbury are just price gouging at this point. One of my close friends lives overseas and a couple of times a year I sent her a box of her favourite things, nearly had a heart attack at £2 for a chocolate orange, they've ALWAYS been £1. And that was in B&M.

But it's the same with everything, i've always loved Tikiboo gym leggings but they kept increasing the prices until they were similar to Sweaty Betty or Gymshark in the sale. Quality is no where near the same and now they've gone into administration because why would you buy them when you can buy something of much better quality for £1-2 more.

We've just stopped going out to eat and we're looking for free or cheaper days out now.

Ok, well I live in london, which should be the most expensive. A coffee is about £3.80

A few years ago NMW was much lower, heat/light/power was much lower, employer's NI was much lower, premises rent was much lower because interest rates were much lower so mortgages were much lower, rates were much lower, food costs were much lower, the cost of borrowing was much lower. Pre 2018 small businesses were not yet brought into pension auto enrolment, so didn't have to cover employee pensions. Now they do, and in a staff heavy business that cost is material and adds to their ever increasing fixed costs. That is probably why the business has added a £1.50 increase to a cup of tea. It isn't just the tea you are paying for, it's everything else, because every seat taken, every item sold has to contribute to the fixed costs or the business goes under.

Many restaurants, cafes and hospitality venues have gone under since covid and are still going under at a depressing rate. This is despite people complaining they are profiteering. They really aren't.

So next time you feel ripped off by the £3 cup of tea please think about how far the £1.50 extra goes towards covering the escalation in costs the cafe has faced over the past few years. Then think about how much you value that cafe. If you don't, don't go there, but if you do and want them to stay in business understand the real cost of providing what you are buying.

We too prefer to eat out less but go to better quality places. Cote etc are mediocre and only a fraction less in price than some much nicer places. My favourite place at the moment is Farmer J but appreciate that London offers a lot of choice at all price points.

i had sour dough toast with avocado and feta in a local independent cafe for Brunch
delicious
the price was appalling, £13! more than the meat option or at least equivalent,
how can anyone justify such a price?

@JudgeJ I live in NE Scotland and pre Covid you certainly could get 2 coffees and scones for a fiver.
Now our prices are the same as everyone else. Local cafe charges £19.50 for very ordinary fish and chips.

I agree. Pack of 16 Weetabix £3.99 in Lidl today. Unbelievable!

At the risk of sounding like a tosser, I have an example of an outrageous price hike at the other end of the scale. I’ve saved up to treat myself to a couple of nights in a 5* spa hotel. They used to include a ‘discretionary gratuity’ of 5% of spend, capped at £25 per room. Last time I was there with my daughter and didn’t mind paying it. This was in effect till around Feb/March 2024. Nowadays, it’s 10% of spend and capped at £50 per person. So the same trip would now cost me £100 in tips. I find it pretty shocking that a 5-star hotel has this policy. I’m not going to pay it, however embarrassed I am at asking it to be removed.

3.50 for 24 in Sains.

It's not just that prices have gone up so much, but also that service and quality have gone down so much. I go out a lot less and socialise at home or in free public spaces.

But there are still bargains to be had. Cinemas near have come down in price a lot - now £5-6 a ticket down from £12-15. And a streaming subscription for less than £10 a month with unlimited watching for the whole family or anyone else who turns up. Alcohol is much cheaper to buy and drink at home now than it was 20/30 years ago. Easier to cook foods from all around the world - we have so much more choice in the shops, and recipes (with videos as well) available for free online. Instead of an expensive landline and paying for calls, I can talk for as long as I want with a £10 a month SIM card. And free overseas calls with apps like WhatsApp/telegram/zoom.

I didn’t buy them needless to say!

Prices have defo gone wild but no way that a few years ago two people could watch a film, go out to eat and visit a cafe for coffee and cake for £50!

If my email inbox is anything to go by a lot of the chains are struggling. I seem to be getting offers left right and centre.

we are definitely eating out less, but eating better at home. I’m making a point of finding independent cafes and restaurants when we do go out. I’m also using the (actually not very local!) butchers and bakers more instead of supermarkets. It’s cut down waste a lot.

I just cannot justify spending the money on dinner at a good restaurant any more - it is so expensive and usually disappointing. Actually I don't miss it anyway - eating out is way over-rated in my opinion. Prefer to eat at home always.

If ínflation is falling, (e.g. "Now we have 2% inflation, last year it was 5%") it only means that prices are not increasing as fast as they were. It doesn't mean anything is getting cheaper, and it certainly doesn't mean anything is going to stay at the same price.

So how much was the meal, how many courses, soft drinks or alcohol consumed. As cinema and cafe seems reasonable to me

Costs for leisure/hospitality have risen faster than in other sectors (i.e. faster than inflation overall). The hospitality industry has been hit hard by living wage increases (30% since 2019), plus higher NI and business rates, and Brexit. A few places may be raking it in, but generally hospitality hasn’t been able to make ends meet even with higher prices. A lot operate at a loss and are at risk of going out of business.

So do I. Depends where in London I guess. This wasn’t a chain as I tend to avoid them.

@newire well no independent retailers made record profits during covid or at any other time. They generally work on margins of about 3 or 4 %

I’m 66 and can’t ever remember a time when people weren’t complaining about prices going up

I notice it the most with coffee. My very working class rural county in Wales mostly has coffee & tea prices in cafes that are either the same as London's or are even more expensive!! I think they hiked the prices up a lot during covid and will continue to do so as long as it doesn't hurt their profits.