Supermarkets expand variety of brands to avoid inflation, says sector

Brazilian supermarkets are seeking to expand the number of product brands and the variety of prices to try to circumvent the effects of inflation, indicated on Thursday (9) the institutional and administrative vice president of Abras (Brazilian Supermarket Association), Marcio Milan.

“We have seen an effort by supermarkets to bring alternative brands and prices. Consumers are researching more, and there are promotions,” he said.

In 12 months, until October, the country’s official inflation, measured by the IPCA (Broad National Consumer Price Index), advanced 10.67%. In the food and beverage group, the increase was higher, 11.71%.

The leader cited the strategy during a presentation on consumption in homes of products sold by the sector. In October, consumption retreated 0.24% in volume, compared to the same month in 2020, according to Abras.

In the accumulated result for the year, up to October, the indicator registered an increase of 3.14%. The association assesses that high inflation weighs on consumers’ pockets at the moment, as it reduces the population’s purchasing power.

According to Milan, the expansion of brands helped consumption to rise by 4.95% in October, compared to September. The leader also recalled that October had 31 days, one more than the previous month, which also took the result up on the margin.

In the accumulated result for the year, until December, Abras follows with the projection of advance of 4.5% in consumption, but does not rule out a downward revision, according to Milan.

The entity associates the possible accumulated growth to factors such as store openings — there were 650 throughout the year — and fewer restrictions on activities.

“In 2020, November and December were months of restrictions. And we are talking about at least 650 new stores this year. The number [acumulado do ano] tends to increase, but maybe not reach 4.5%”, indicated Milan.

Natal

Even with the inflationary pressure, Abras foresees high of 14% in the consumption of Christmas products, in terms of volume, this year. That list includes items like Panettone and birds.

The advance projection, Milan said, is associated with factors such as the increase in the number of brands, in addition to the removal of restrictive measures to curb Covid-19.

Abras’ research includes different types of stores, from traditional supermarkets to mini-markets, hypermarkets, wholesalers and e-commerce.

In October, spending on a basket of 35 consumer products grew 2.20% compared to September, to R$700.04, calculates the entity. In comparison with October last year, the basket was more expensive at 17.27%.

Greater Porto Alegre had the highest value of these items in October: R$ 795.45. Cuiabá (MT), in turn, recorded the lowest: R$540.07.

The biggest price hikes in October, compared to September, were for tomatoes (28.8%), potatoes (24.1%), frozen chicken (6.3%), roasted and ground coffee (6.11%) and sugar (4.8%).