“I buy the most necessary products – milk, cottage cheese, butter, bread, vegetables, fruits and the like, I cook at home, I don’t go to cafes, and I still feel as if I work only so that everyone is fed. And where are the clothes, taxes?” Vaida asked.
Families limit themselves
President of the National Association of Families and Parents Violeta VASILIAUSKIENĖ, communicating with families, notices that families with lower incomes are very self-limiting and calculating. “And those to whom life gave more could save, but they don’t save much and behave more freely with their income,” she says.
It is true that there are families in the association who go shopping in Poland, this is relevant for families with many children.
“One family has 5 children and goes to Poland twice a month. What to do? Teenagers need a lot of everything. It is necessary to calculate a lot,” said the head of the mentioned association.
V. Vasiliauskienė, who herself has three children, admits that her family’s budget is fortunately not poor, so there is no need to save very much, but she certainly looks at the price when choosing food products. If a kilogram of cottage cheese costs 7 euros in one store, and 4 euros in another, of course, you choose where it is cheaper. “Food costs money. Our family spends about 600-700 euros on food per month,” says Mrs. Violeta and adds that when raising children, she spends mostly on their education and travel. Children’s education is the priority of parents these days. Therefore, children’s trips sometimes “eat up” the parents’ travel budget.
Essential products are not cheap
Everyone wants to save, if not everyone, then at least many. We ask the president of the National Association of Families and Parents to issue at least a few recipes for inexpensive meals that the whole family will enjoy. “Pearl groats with vegetables are very tasty. Both economical and healthy. Also, our family likes buckwheat porridge with canned meat and onions. It’s not expensive either. Such military porridge is delicious. It is not easy for large families to balance the different tastes and interests of family members, but it is possible. We also succeed,” laughs Violeta.
According to the interviewee, it is not always possible for people to save on food because the most necessary products are not cheap. According to V. Vasiliauskienė, it is enough to look at how much a farmer and processors and traders get for a liter of milk. “Aren’t the costs so high that the price of milk triples?” It would be good to buy directly from farmers to people, so that purchase would be more accessible,” she says.
Violeta assures that families can save money by planning purchases, shopping for the week, preparing meals by freezing them. “Always have a plan and a list. Don’t push yourself too hard. You will find a way to save money suitable for your family,” assures V. Vasiliauskienė.
Arūnas VIZICKAS, manager of the price comparison portal Pricer.lt, comments:
– What fixed trends would you emphasize this year?
– The main trend was that before Easter, the basket of the cheapest products became cheaper, and the basket of brands became more expensive. The basket of the cheapest products is moving towards the pre-war level. Since the basket of brands has become more expensive, they are now trying to maintain this price, sometimes by making promotions.
Dairy products are the cheapest, and those “brands”, even “Dvaro”, are 10 or 20 euro cents more expensive.
– You say that the cheapest ones are cheap, the more expensive ones are getting more expensive, does this mean that lower quality products are cheaper?
– We used such expressions – “calories with status” and “calories without status”. We compared the products – “calories without status” are no worse than “calories with status”. In most cases, it is even the same manufacturer. And the price difference of such products is two or three times. We overpay for the package not even by percentage, but sometimes.
– Families say they spend a quarter of their income on food alone, is that normal?
– Even before the pandemic and the war, there were such calculations that the average family spent 21% on food. your income. In EU countries, those costs for food are up to 14 percent. And Great Britain respectively 7-8 percent. It’s not cheap to waste money on “brands” and not pay attention to private labels in retail chains. If a quarter or even a third of a person’s income goes to food alone, it’s already a bad situation. We don’t have anything left for culture, we don’t leave our budget for self-realization, we don’t have anything left for hobbies and the like.
– Summarize what you have seen during the years you have been working? What kind of carousel are the buyers on?
– We have been working since 2016, the main trends are such that when an economic or production cataclysm occurs, in most cases, prices inflate, but after the cataclysm is overcome and the market recovers, those prices still remain and do not return to the initial level. Another point – we do not find many manifestations of competition in Lithuania. This is a consequence of how competition is handled.
True, the Easter competition between Maxima and Lidl, which lasted for two weeks, showed that this is a healthy thing. Because consumers could buy potatoes for 2-3 cents each. Mayonnaise, peas, eggs suddenly became cheaper.
Let’s talk about inflation. In that entire ball, two poor people could be seen paying for that ball – the consumers and the farmers. During a difficult period, it’s hard for someone, it’s good for someone. We would single out processors, where the market is concentrated, primarily the dairy industry. Already now, some dairy farmers (joint-stock companies) publish their results and admit themselves that they are making an unusually good profit, three times more than before.
Then there are traders who have now inflated their margins more. And already VAT, which the Government collects from increased prices. They collect more VAT, but since there was no money in the budget, there is none. It is not clear where they evaporate.
Another point – brands and private labels, the gap between their prices is big. For example, a packet of milk – 1.5 Eur, private label – 0.65 ct. A packet of butter – 1.30 EUR, “branded” butter – 3 EUR.
– What do buyers pay attention to?
– Often, if the product is not on sale, it is not even paid attention to. We were trained with pricing. The regular price is charged, and it is heavily discounted. For example, 50 percent And that discount travels from one shopping center to another.
During the period we have been tracking prices, we have clearly seen the metamorphosis of Lidl. In Eastern Europe, Lidl earns significantly more than in advanced markets. The Lithuanian example shows that it is gradually getting closer to the big stores, not only in terms of appearance, but also in terms of prices. Competing only on budgets. And all those championship baskets are more derisive than serious…
– How to save?
– My colleagues and I are talking about private labels, it is possible to save at least 2-2.5 times. Of course, not all private labels maintain the quality level, but if the private label is not made in Lithuania or Latvia, but is intended for a larger market, say, Germany, etc., then the quality level is even much higher than that of local brands.
Of course, we look at promotions, we try to put in one basket all the goods that we found in 5 retail chains and three electronic stores. The difference between the cheapest basket and the most expensive – you won’t believe it – is more than 40 percent. And on average 25-30 percent. It is not without reason that statistics show that people visit 2.5 stores for a complete shopping experience. There is no loyalty to one retail chain. A person is forced to walk through shopping networks and choose the best offers of the day.
The market needs a means by which the buyer can easily navigate where the best deals are. Until now, merchants are taking advantage of the fact that when you go to one physical store, you cannot compare the price of a product with another, because it is too big an investment – you have to go to another store to find the product you wanted. What if it is more expensive? You don’t even risk it.
Tags: People hide food products consume money Respublika .lt
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