Revealed: How Much Supermarket Prices Have Gone Up Since 2022
The latest Stats NZ figures show in the past 12 months food prices have gone up 4.4 percent - the highest increase since December 2023.
Over the last three years Checkpoint has been tracking a weekly shop from the same suburb at a Woolworths and PAK'nSAVE supermarket to see just how much things have gone up at the checkout.
Some of the results are more eye watering than mouthwatering.
For over three years, Checkpoint has been tracking the cost of 36 items likely to be in a household's trolley.
In May 2022, our first shop at Woolworths Greenlane cost us $238 dollars and $217 at PAK'nSAVE Royal Oak.
Today, those same items at Woolworths have shot up to $305 dollars - an extra $67 dollars at the checkout. PAK'nSAVE our shop, now set us back $270, an extra $53 dollars.
Compared to our 2022 shop, seasonal vegetables like carrots and cabbage were cheaper. Other items that had come down slightly or stayed the same were Watties baked beans, plain flour, Mightyfresh wheatmeal toast bread and diced tomatoes.
But they were mostly exceptions, most of the items on the shopping list cost more.
Some shoppers told Checkpoint they have noticed an increase on some items in particular.
"Olive oil is really expensive and eggs," said one shopper. "Dairy items I've noticed but even just general fresh fruit and vege."
Others said meat was on the list.
Unsurprisingly, dairy had one of the biggest jumps.
At both supermarkets you still could not get a 1kg block of cheese for $10 or less. Though 1kg is now $1 dollar cheaper at Woolworths for $12.49. At PAK'nSAVE a 1kg block stayed much the same at $11.89.
Two litres of standard blue top milk were sitting at just under $5 at both supermarkets.
In 2022, a 500g block of Woolworths branded butter cost $5.80, now a whopping $8.50. At PAK'nSAVE it was a similar story, in 2022 it was $5.70 for a Pams 500g block, now $8.30.
One shopper said their family uses a lot of butter and they were feeling the pinch, "It's been absolutely ridiculous it's almost $10."
Others said they bought butter in bulk from Costco to save money "to buy cheaper New Zealand butter in bulk and freeze it rather than buying at the supermarkets."
A 50 box of Twinning's Earl Grey tea more than doubled in price at PAK'nSAVE to $7.89.
As for a dozen barn eggs, those more than doubled at PAK'nSAVE to $9.59 and $9.50 at Woolworths.
The humble beef mince now not so humble at 1kg used to cost $11.99 at PAK'n SAVE, now $18.99. At Countdown, it was up from $14.90 in 2022 to $23.80 now.
For some, it is now a luxury among other items they are going without.
"Probably meat products and dairy," said one shopper.
Others were also leaving those products on the shelves and opting for a butter "blend" and no brand versions.
One man said snacks were off the shopping list. "Snack bars and extra things you'd put into kids lunches."
One woman said she had left her broccoli and cauliflower out of the shop.
Washing and toiletry products also came out far more expensive.
Four kilograms of Persil sensitive washing powder was $22 at both supermarkets in 2022, now an extra $13 at Woolworths and $6.50 more at PAK'nSAVE.
Huggies size 3 nappies were an extra $10 at PAK'nSAVE and a litre of Palmolive body wash was an extra $5 at Woolworths.
For those advising to stock up on staples or frozen to cut costs, rice, noodles, sugar and frozen vegetables - all more expensive.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
1News
10 hours ago
- 1News
Tips for keeping your power bill down this winter
Twenty per cent of Kiwis are struggling to pay their power bills, with 11% cutting back on heating their homes, according to Consumer NZ's latest energy survey. Stats NZ figures show the price of electricity has gone up almost 9% in the past year. Some people have told Checkpoint they are in bed by 5pm to save on heating costs, while others take extreme measures, like turning off their hot water cylinder or bathing in cold water. However, Consumer NZ Powerswitch manager Paul Fuge told Checkpoint people could make significant savings on their bill, if they cut back on their energy use. New Zealand currency. (Source: ADVERTISEMENT "Typically, we would say [you can save] around 20%, if you're really disciplined." He said the price of energy had increased significantly, resulting in more people getting into energy hardship and struggling to pay their power bills. "One in five have experienced financial difficulty in paying their power bill over the last year, and around the same number basically missed a payment because of that. That results in late fees, so the issue compounds." The top household energy user was hot water, amounting to around 30% of an average home's electricity bill. Fuge said this was followed by refrigeration at 17% and space heating at 15%. Water coming out of a shower (file picture). (Source: "Those are the biggest things that use energy and offer the biggest potential to save money." ADVERTISEMENT He said the most effective way was to get onto a time-of-use plan, enabling energy usage at times of day when the price was cheaper. "The price of electricity is constantly changing and it's higher when more people are using electricity. "That's early morning, when people are getting up and getting ready for work, and in the evening, when people are coming home. That's the highest price of electricity on the wholesale market." At times, like the middle of the night, when there is less demand for power, the price falls. It's time to "spring forward" one hour (Source: "Retailers take advantage of this and buy electricity at lower cost periods, and pass those savings on through time-of-use plans." He said this included keeping your hot water cylinder on a timer, heating it up in the middle of the night, when electricity is often half the price, and again in the middle of the day, another off-peak time. ADVERTISEMENT Not every hot water cylinder operates on a timer system, typically only newer models. Fuge said the age of appliances also had a significant impact on its efficiency. "Modern appliances are much more efficient than the old ones, particularly things like fridges, but also hot water cylinders." While some may be tempted to power off the hot water cylinder completely to save costs, Fuge warned strongly against it. Opening a fridge (file photo) (Source: "We would not recommend doing that at all, because you can get diseases in the hot water cylinder, when the water's not hot enough, particularly legionnaires' disease, which sort of thrives in those warm stagnant water temperatures." He said another key energy drainer was the 'beer fridge'. ADVERTISEMENT "Modern fridges are way more efficient than the old fridges and that's a real saving. "We stick that old fridge at the bach or out in the shed, so you get an old inefficient appliance in an environment that it's not designed for and it's a perfect storm of badness in terms of electricity consumption." Fuge said, while the key way to save was a time-of-use plan, it wouldn't suit every household's needs perfectly. "If you can use those high-consumption appliances away from peak times and move them into cheaper times, there's some potential savings there, but I would caution that it requires discipline and it doesn't suit all households."
Scoop
a day ago
- Scoop
How To Keep Your Power Bill Down This Winter
Twenty percent of Kiwis are struggling to pay their power bills, with 11 percent cutting back on heating their homes, according to Consumer New Zealand's latest energy survey. Stats NZ figures show the price of electricity has gone up almost 9 percent in the past year. Some people have told Checkpoint they are in bed by 5pm to save on heating costs, while others take extreme measures, like turning off their hot water cylinder or bathing in cold water. However, Consumer NZ Powerswitch manager Paul Fuge told Checkpoint people could make significant savings on their bill, if they cut back on their energy use. "Typically, we would say [you can save] around 20 percent, if you're really disciplined." He said the price of energy had increased significantly, resulting in more people getting into energy hardship and struggling to pay their power bills. "One in five have experienced financial difficulty in paying their power bill over the last year and around the same number basically missed a payment because of that. That results in late fees, so the issue compounds." The top household energy user was hot water, amounting to around 30 percent of an average home's electricity bill. Fuge said this was followed by refrigeration at 17 percent and space heating at 15 percent. "Those are the biggest things that use energy and offer the biggest potential to save money." He said the most effective way was to get onto a time-of-use plan, enabling energy usage at times of day when the price was cheaper. "The price of electricity is constantly changing and it's higher when more people are using electricity. "That's early morning, when people are getting up and getting ready for work, and in the evening, when people are coming home. That's the highest price of electricity on the wholesale market." At times, like the middle of the night, when there is less demand for power, the price falls. "Retailers take advantage of this and buy electricity at lower cost periods, and pass those savings on through time-of-use plans." He said this included keeping your hot water cylinder on a timer, heating it up in the middle of the night, when electricity is often half the price, and again in the middle of the day, another off-peak time. Not every hot water cylinder operates on a timer system, typically only newer models. Fuge said the age of appliances also had a significant impact on its efficiency. "Modern appliances are much more efficient than the old ones, particularly things like fridges, but also hot water cylinders." While some may be tempted to power off the hot water cylinder completely to save costs, Fuge warned strongly against it. "We would not recommend doing that at all, because you can get diseases in the hot water cylinder, when the water's not hot enough, particularly legionnaires' disease, which sort of thrives in those warm stagnant water temperatures." He said another key energy drainer was the 'beer fridge'. "Modern fridges are way more efficient than the old fridges and that's a real saving. "We stick that old fridge at the bach or out in the shed, so you get an old inefficient appliance in an environment that it's not designed for and it's a perfect storm of badness in terms of electricity consumption." Fuge said, while the key way to save was a time-of-use plan, it wouldn't suit every household's needs perfectly. "If you can use those high-consumption appliances away from peak times and move them into cheaper times, there's some potential savings there, but I would caution that it requires discipline and it doesn't suit all households."
Otago Daily Times
2 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Tips to keep your power bill down this winter
Twenty percent of Kiwis are struggling to pay their power bills, with 11 percent cutting back on heating their homes, according to Consumer New Zealand's latest energy survey. Stats NZ figures show the price of electricity has gone up almost 9 percent in the past year. Some people have told Checkpoint they are in bed by 5pm to save on heating costs, while others take extreme measures, like turning off their hot water cylinder or bathing in cold water. However, Consumer NZ Powerswitch manager Paul Fuge told Checkpoint people could make significant savings on their bill, if they cut back on their energy use. "Typically, we would say [you can save] around 20 percent, if you're really disciplined." He said the price of energy had increased significantly, resulting in more people getting into energy hardship and struggling to pay their power bills. "One in five have experienced financial difficulty in paying their power bill over the last year and around the same number basically missed a payment because of that. That results in late fees, so the issue compounds." The top household energy user was hot water, amounting to around 30 percent of an average home's electricity bill. Fuge said this was followed by refrigeration at 17 percent and space heating at 15 percent. "Those are the biggest things that use energy and offer the biggest potential to save money." He said the most effective way was to get on to a time-of-use plan, enabling energy usage at times of day when the price was cheaper. "The price of electricity is constantly changing and it's higher when more people are using electricity. "That's early morning, when people are getting up and getting ready for work, and in the evening, when people are coming home. That's the highest price of electricity on the wholesale market." At times, like the middle of the night, when there is less demand for power, the price falls. "Retailers take advantage of this and buy electricity at lower cost periods, and pass those savings on through time-of-use plans." He said this included keeping your hot water cylinder on a timer, heating it up in the middle of the night, when electricity is often half the price, and again in the middle of the day, another off-peak time. Not every hot water cylinder operates on a timer system, typically only newer models. Fuge said the age of appliances also had a significant impact on its efficiency. "Modern appliances are much more efficient than the old ones, particularly things like fridges, but also hot water cylinders." While some may be tempted to power off the hot water cylinder completely to save costs, Fuge warned strongly against it. "We would not recommend doing that at all, because you can get diseases in the hot water cylinder, when the water's not hot enough, particularly legionnaires' disease, which sort of thrives in those warm stagnant water temperatures." He said another key energy drainer was the 'beer fridge'. "Modern fridges are way more efficient than the old fridges and that's a real saving. "We stick that old fridge at the bach or out in the shed, so you get an old inefficient appliance in an environment that it's not designed for and it's a perfect storm of badness in terms of electricity consumption." Fuge said, while the key way to save was a time-of-use plan, it wouldn't suit every household's needs perfectly. "If you can use those high-consumption appliances away from peak times and move them into cheaper times, there's some potential savings there, but I would caution that it requires discipline and it doesn't suit all households."
