I largely gave up on Boots and Co-op for food some time ago, so handy to know I'm not welcome back.I noticed when in the Morrisons at Northampton earlier that they have joined the likes of Tesco, Boots & some Co-Ops in having the cheaper meal deal available only if you have a "My Morrisons" card. £3,50 with the card but £4,00 without.
Just a pain as it's another 'loyalty' scheme I will need to sign up for when I have infrequent trips to Morrisons when exploring. (A first world problem)
Prices I pay are still as set by the Scottish government. Assuming that you're in England, a decent proportion of the cost is excise duty, and I don't believe that was increased in line with inflationUsing Tesco as an example (I’m sure other retailers are the same) why have food prices increased, but alcohol (beer & lager etc) has not? In my local Tesco I can still buy beer at similar prices than I could 12+ months ago.
My local Sainsburys has recently gated the entire (very) open front area from the checkouts to the other end of the store. They aren't actually closing the gates themselves (would be pretty inconvenient with the Argos within the barriers), but I guess if they are suffering from a lot of stock loss then filtering everybody through a much smaller space will make it easier to monitor and slightly scarier for first-time shoplifters.I was having a browse through Morrisons earlier, it seems £1.29 is the new £0.99 basically (but don't miss out on the fantastic 2 for £2.50 offer!)
Also what on earth are the futuristic looking 'security gates' meant to do at the self checkout exit?! You could in theory just walk back through the self checkout entrance point instead and I doubt anyone would bat an eyelid
Cheese has now reached the price of £4.80 for the 900g block in the shops.I’ve noticed the 900g budget cheese has gone up from £3.99 to £4.19 in all the major supermarkets that stock it.
David Smith
Some statistics still have the capacity to shock, even after all the turbulence of recent years. One such shocker was the latest reading for food inflation. In February, food prices were up 18.3 per cent on a year earlier, which is extraordinary. Add in non-alcoholic beverages (though we all need a drink after figures like that) and the rise was 18 per cent.
Why such a shocker? If I tell you that the rise in food prices over the past 12 months has been as much as the cumulative increase over the previous 11 years and 4 months, you get the idea of the extent to which current food price inflation is off the scale.
The rise in food prices over the past 12 months has been as much as the cumulative increase over the previous 11 years and 4 months.
An extract from a piece in The Sunday Times today.
I haven't copied the entire piece as it is behind the paywall but this is the link:
The Sunday Times, 2 April 2023
Producers mainly. Four corporations control 90% of the world’s grain supply. They’re doing very well thank you nicely, all under the cover of a “cost of living crisis”. Margins are increasing as a percentage.More interesting would be who is trousering the increase - producers workers or retailers ?
Hadn't really noticed. Compared to what, exactly?Its not a supermarket but why are Burger King prices relatively expensive for what it is.
Its not a supermarket but why are Burger King prices relatively expensive for what it is.
This has been observed all over Europe: fast food 'known chain' prices have risen really dramatically recently, much more so than other outlets.
Its not a supermarket but why are Burger King prices relatively expensive for what it is.
It's been 4 for £5 at Asda for a long time .. I mean years.I think Heinz soup was discussed earlier.
At Tesco, Heinz tomato £1.70/tin, Clubcard offer four for £5. Or a prepacked box of 4 for £3.99...
Inflation has fallen to 8.7%
Inflation has fallen to 8.7%
but food inflation still about 19%
That suggests the rest of the cost is essentially per bottle. Filling a bottle, transporting it, stacking it on the shelf is going to cost much the same whether it's a little bottle or a big one.Last week I was both confused and shocked when it came to purchasing milk. As we were consuming more than the normal 2pt I looked at getting a 4pt container. The 2pt cost £1.25, so was expecting to pay around £2.50 mark for the 4pt bottle... nope, £1.55. So that additional 2pt of milk cost me just 30p more. The questions that ran through my brain was that if they were selling 4 pints for £1.55, just 30p more (and still make profit) then at 15p a pint based on the two extra pints, why does a 2pt bottle cost £1.25... Heck, even if you take the full £1.55 for 4 pints that works out at £0.77p for a 2 pint bottle as the price per pint works out to 38.75P !
Last week I was both confused and shocked when it came to purchasing milk. As we were consuming more than the normal 2pt I looked at getting a 4pt container. The 2pt cost £1.25, so was expecting to pay around £2.50 mark for the 4pt bottle... nope, £1.55. So that additional 2pt of milk cost me just 30p more. The questions that ran through my brain was that if they were selling 4 pints for £1.55, just 30p more (and still make profit) then at 15p a pint based on the two extra pints, why does a 2pt bottle cost £1.25... Heck, even if you take the full £1.55 for 4 pints that works out at £0.77p for a 2 pint bottle as the price per pint works out to 38.75P !
Steaks and cheese are being fitted with security tags and coffee replaced with dummy jars, as supermarkets battle to curb a rise in shoplifting.
Some stores are also limiting the number of items on shelves in an attempt to reduce theft.
It comes as data analysed by the BBC showed shoplifting offences had now returned to pre-pandemic levels as the cost of living rises.
Retailers say they are spending heavily on anti-crime measures.
In March, police forces in England, Wales and Northern Ireland recorded nearly 33,000 incidents of shoplifting according to data analysed by the BBC.
That is a significant 30.9% increase compared with March last year.
The BBC has contacted all the main supermarkets in the UK to ask whether they have put in place extra security measures.
Some, including Waitrose, were unable to comment on matters of security. Others insisted the measures are not being taken nationwide, but have been implemented at individual stores facing high rates of theft.
- Coffee and chocolate drive supermarket prices up
- Food price cap will not make a difference - retailers
- Food prices 'worryingly high' as sugar and milk soar
Photos circulating on social media have shown the range of anti-shoplifting measures being taken at different supermarkets.
One user posted a picture of steaks enclosed in security devices at a Co-op store. "They're packaging steaks like they're gold bars," they wrote.
This isn’t particularly new and has been going on for 15 years at least.I don't condone shoplifting, but if it's on the increase due to food as a whole becoming more unaffordable, then, to put it bluntly, the system is broken:
Steak, coffee and cheese locked up as shoplifting rises
Shoplifting offences have returned to pre-pandemic levels as the cost of living soars.www.bbc.co.uk
This isn’t particularly new and has been going on for 15 years at least.
A while back I used to work in M&S food and we had issues with undesirables wiping out the steak shelves and scarpering,Not in Tesco's at least in Falkirk.
I bought some steak amongst other things and used a self-serve checkout only for the beep beep symphony to unfold.
The Girl supervising the area explained it was new procedure and I didn't see any warnings on the product or shelves. Not sure how it is supposed to work as there is no obvious tag akin to those on liquor.
Ironically it only cost £3.80 (Clubcard Offer) and the 300g Jars of Nescafe in the store have no such security measures despite being almost twice the price.