NZ: Groceries in city costing a packet
A basket of basic goods at New World on Main St was just $1 cheaper than the most expensive supermarket, which was in Newtown in Wellington, costing $156. A basket at Pak 'n Save in Auckland is $10 cheaper than the same goods in Palmerston North, according to the survey.
Palmerston North City Council economic adviser Peter Crawford said the low prices in the biggest cities could be due to the higher number of customers going through the doors. "People will be coming through the doors proportionally less than in a big Auckland supermarket."
He said that when supermarkets bought products locally the bigger stores could push harder for a discount.
Foodstuffs New Zealand corporate public relations director Antoinette Shallue said the Pak 'n Save model allowed stores to negotiate the best prices possible by buying in bulk, meaning they could keep the prices of many items down for the long term.
"The reason prices tend to differ across the country is that individual stores have the ability to negotiate with their local suppliers or take up specific deals from suppliers if they are offered."
She said promotions were a big part of the New World brand, so they could get price variations from week to week. "These variances entirely depend on when the survey was under- taken. In a different day another week the result at New World Palmerston North may have been different."
"Primarily, our stores have the same pricing across the country, which is reflected in the survey as our differential between the highest and lowest is much less than our competitors," a Countdown spokeswoman said. "However, we also respond on a local level to competition and that means prices can change regularly, sometimes even daily."
Just Zilch free food store co-ordinator Rebecca Culver said it was surprising and disappointing that Palmerston North was so high on the list.
"It's no wonder that the numbers we're seeing are increasing. The jump is not huge but it's still significant; we're not seeing numbers go down."
Fresh meat, fish or produce were excluded from the list of items. Wine and beer were also excluded.
Consumer NZ said the discounts were so huge that a supermarket with a listed wine on special would have a massive price advantage.
Source: stuff.co.nz
