Vote of confidence from consumers in the “household basket”

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Since the first implementation of the measure, the interest of the consumer public has been very high, both in the stores of the supermarket chains and on the platform https://e-katanalotis.gov.gr/householdBasket

Consumers gave a vote of confidence to the “household basket” as was seen in the first days of the measure’s implementation. According to what the Minister of Development and Investments stated in his statements, Adonis Georgiades the cart has “sold out” without a problem with the sufficiency of the products on the shelves. “They don’t have time to fill the shelves with the products in the basket” said Mr. Georgiadis and added: “The support of consumers in the first days is impressive and indeed, the prices are comparatively better and will be even better the longer the competition works. People are supporting it and buying it en masse and the prices are starting to fall, because that’s what the consumer is most interested in.”

Since the first implementation of the measure, the interest of the consumer public has been very high, both in the stores of the supermarket chains and on the platform https://e-katanalotis.gov.gr/householdBasket where the price lists for more than 50 products have been posted which could not withstand the weight of the visits showing problems.

In action “household basket» 13 companies participate: Sklavenitis, AB Vasilopoulos, Lidl, My Market, Masoutis, Galaxias, Kritikos, Bazaar, Market In, SYNKA, Chalkiadakis, Discount Markt and e-fresh.gr. Through the platform, the consumer can easily see the products in the basket and their prices in different chains, compare and compose their own basket with products at favorable prices. At the same time, a circular will be issued that will determine the size of the label that is placed on the shelves with the products that are included in the basket so that they can be identified more easily by consumers.

The price comparison on the platform showed that many of the products had reduced prices while there were also offers in the cart. As the Minister of Development and Investments Adonis Georgiadis stated in his statements, the basket consists of 60% branded products and 40% private label. Notably, two major supermarket chains announced new lower prices on a range of products that make up the ‘household basket’. This move, according to Mr. Georgiadis, proves that competition works. “Each chain sees what the other chain has done and how consumers behave and what customers want to get. That’s why we need competition, freer competition, that’s why from the beginning we accept free prices and a free market for competition to work and that’s why you see that within just two days it’s starting to work said the minister.

At the same time, there are thoughts, following the demand of many consumers, to include in the “household basket” products aimed at specific population groups that have special nutritional needs. One such group, perhaps the largest, is the diabetics who have requested to put in the basket products that are exclusively addressed to their needs. Also, the expansion of the institution to other branches (bakeries, butchers, etc.) is planned to further cover the basic needs of consumers as well as its expansion with more branded products at competitive prices. In this context, the Minister of Development and Investments will have a meeting with industry representatives. “I also talk with the industry constantly, to see how much bigger offers can be made with the household basket for the branded products as well next week and the week after,” Mr. Georgiadis said in his statements.

The market response is positive

As he points out speaking to APE-MPE, Lefteris Kioses, general director of IELKA (Consumer Goods Retail Research Institute) although it is too early to draw any safe conclusions, what is certain is that the market responded and the measure was successfully implemented. “The household basket will not solve the problem of inflation but it will help in this direction. Inflation is a multifactorial problem and cannot be solved with a magic solution.”

According to Mr. Chiose, there are issues in the implementation of the measure that will be examined in the coming weeks in order to make some corrective moves. However, he expressed his belief that the market has proven to adapt quite quickly and given that competition works very well, the consumer will benefit from this initiative. Regarding the products that the supermarkets chose to put in the basket, Mr. Kioses points out that each company is free to do what it deems best. Some focused more on private label products and some on branded products. This has to do with their strategy.” He also mentioned that there will certainly be changes in the categories of the products in the basket in order to cover the objectives of the basket as well as the seasonal needs of consumers (eg the festive season of Christmas).

With regard to product price increases, he noted that they will continue as they come from the supply chain and cannot be absorbed in their entirety by businesses. “The point is to move to a lesser extent on prices and to have an easily accessible alternative for the consumer in order to satisfy their basic needs. This is the best result we can expect from this initiative,” he said.

It is noted that from last Wednesday the basket called “golden offer” which includes cheaper products from small and medium-sized supermarkets came into force, according to what the president of the Association of Small and Medium-sized Supermarkets of Greece points out to APE-MBE. Yannis Pilidis. As Mr. Pilidis explains, the small and medium supermarkets made their own basket because they do not have all 50 products that make up the “household basket” in their stores. According to him, the basket with the cheapest products of small and medium supermarkets, which can negotiate with suppliers and industries for better prices, has the name “golden offer”.

Referring to the “household basket” initiative, Mr. Pilidis points out to APE-MPE that “it is in a positive direction as it activates competition. Through this process, only something positive comes out that the consumer wins.” However, he notes that excessive expectations were created in the consumer for a definitive solution to the problem of inflation. “The household basket does not solve the inflation issue. Inflation still exists. The purpose of the basket was to help the most vulnerable households. This goal was achieved. The products of the basket have decreased by 15 – 18% compared to the beginning of October.”

Reservations from consumer associations

The president of EKPOIZO expressed reservations about the effectiveness of the measure in her statements, Panagiota Kalapotharakou arguing that consumers should search extensively across all supermarket chains to find the cheapest of the cheapest products. According to her, in order to compare, the consumer should see the quantity of the product and not the piece.

For its part, the Union of Consumer Workers of Greece conducted a survey on the website “e-katanalotis” which showed that the consumer remains “unprotected not only against the ever-increasing accuracy and price explosion, but also against the perennial weakness of any state interventions that seek to address the problem”. Specifically, among other things, it was found that some of the 13 trading chains that registered products on the “e-katanalotis” platform, have not sent a complete list of them, that is, they do not cover all the categories as described in the law. Also, there are chains that include private label products in a percentage of approximately 80% of the total, while in some of the chains the phenomenon of having the same product registered from 2 to eleven (11) times occurs. The investigation found, according to the Union of Consumer Workers of Greece, that some chains have registered products in other product categories, thus misleading consumers and the ministry.

“We found once again that accuracy is not treated with half measures, as in this case” points out the EEKE and indicatively mentions the case of a chain which includes a kitchen roll at the price of 2.65 euros, while the same product in April 2022 cost 1, 89 euros (a 40% increase), personal hygiene items rose in price by 23% in the same period, while the price of food items, such as spaghetti, increased from 0.74 euros to 1.26 euros. There was also a difference in prices between the supermarket chains in coffee, with the difference reaching up to 1.58 euros. At the same time, it is noted that in most products the content has been reduced from 11% to 30%.

RES-EMP

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