Walter Finch
SMART shoppers can save up to €1,272 per year if they choose their supermarket carefully, according to a new report from the Organisation of Consumers and Users (OCU).
In a country still grappling with inflation, shoppers buying at Alcampo can make this massive saving, while Madrid residents stand to reduce their weekly food bill the most.
The study also shows that some supermarkets have actually cut prices for the first time in two years.
Carrefour Express has reduced prices by 0.9%, followed by Lidl (-0.7%) and Aldi (-0.6%), but beware – outlets such as El Corte Inglés (+9.7%) and Hipercor (+8.2%), have actually raised theirs.
Overall, the average price increase – otherwise known as food inflation – across all chains in aggregate stands at 2.9%.
But the rise in food prices has been slowing down, with only 63% of items increasing in price, coming down from 90%. Sunflower oil has seen the biggest drop at 23%.
Some food items, on the other hand, have seen massive price surges, such as olive oil at 76% and orange juice at 47%.
Madrid residents stand to save the most, with potential savings of over €4,100 depending on where they shop. Ciudad Real, on the other hand, offers the lowest savings.
The OCU found that Alcampo hypermarkets in cities such as Barcelona, Murcia, and Vigo are the cheapest stores.
In contrast, Sánchez Romero stores in Madrid continue to top the list as the most expensive.
“The difference in savings compared to Madrid is staggering,” said Ileana Izverniceanu, the OCU’s Director of Communication, during the report’s presentation.
The study also revealed that regional disparities in prices are significant.
Galicia, La Rioja, the Valencian Community, and Castilla y León were found to be the cheapest regions for grocery shopping, while Madrid, the Basque Country, the Balearic Islands, and the Canary Islands were the most expensive.
Regionally, Galicia, La Rioja, and Castilla y León offer the lowest prices for grocery shopping. In contrast, shoppers in Madrid, the Basque Country, and the Balearic Islands face the highest costs.
The OCU’s extensive research covered over 152,000 product prices across 65 cities, providing a clear snapshot of the current state of Spain’s supermarket prices.
