Which supermarkets in Norway have raised their prices the most?
Supermarket chains in Norway adjust their prices wholesale twice a year. The first of these is at the beginning of February. So which Norwegian store has hiked their prices the most?
Ahead of February, when chains decide to tweak their prices wholesale, several experts and figures from the supermarket industry warned that prices could go up significantly.
The only other time of year that supermarkets adjust their prices upwards on a large scale is July. Due to rising inflation and warnings of steeper raises, Norway's major chains have been in a stand-off with one another, with customers' eyes on who will raise prices the most.
Norwegian news site ABC Nyheter ran a comparison in central Oslo to determine which supermarket, out of the stores considered the cheapest- Coop Extra, Kiwi and Rema 1000- had raised products the most. The site chose some of the products that households in Norway typically purchase the most.
These were Tine dairy butter, Norvegia 1 kg white cheese, Axa Oatmeal, Friele breakfast coffee 250 grams, Sopp's spaghetti 500 grams, Toro tomato soup with macaroni, Grandiosa original and Mills double pack real mayonnaise.
On average, the goods were most expensive in Coop Extra, costing 389 kroner. The cheese saw the most considerable price increase, going up nine percent. The same goods from Rema increased by 4.9 percent, costing 375 kroner. Kiwi had chosen to lock the prices of most of the goods in the basket, with the total coming to 355 kroner.
Norwegian newspaper VG and online news site E24 made a joint comparison and found that Rema and Coop Extra had raised prices by around 10 percent. Some of the items to see the most significant price hikes were Zalo dishwashing soap from Coop which increased by 43 percent to 39 kroner a bottle, and Mills caviar, which increased by 38 percent to 32 kroner.
However, these prices are not final and will likely change. For example, Coop Extra may decrease prices to align with the competition.
"There has always been tough price competition in the market, and we will continue to work to ensure that the cheapest trade always takes place at Extra, which recently came out the best of the nationwide chains in the previous major price test that was carried out," Harald Kristiansen, communications manager at Coop Norge, told ABC Nyheter.
Public broadcaster NRK's research found that toilet paper, detergents, coffee, chocolate and dairy products all saw significant increases. The reason for the price increases on many goods is due to suppliers increasing prices.
Line Aarnes has said that supermarket chains were doing their best to absorb increased costs and not pass them onto consumers.
"But almost 80 per cent of our costs are what we pay for the goods we buy. When the suppliers increase the price to us, unfortunately, the price in the store also increases. But we do not increase more than we have to," she told NRK.
Meanwhile, Norway's competition authority said it was pleased to see a difference in prices between the chains. This, it said, could be taken as a sign that there was still competition within the grocery market.
"The fact that there are different prices can indicate that there is competition. We are happy about that," Beate Bjerrefjord from the Norwegian Competition Authority told NRK.
The competition authority and the government have previously expressed concern that the supermarket industry uses the media to announce price hikes well ahead of time and have warned that it could amount to price collusion.
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Ahead of February, when chains decide to tweak their prices wholesale, several experts and figures from the supermarket industry warned that prices could go up significantly.
The only other time of year that supermarkets adjust their prices upwards on a large scale is July. Due to rising inflation and warnings of steeper raises, Norway's major chains have been in a stand-off with one another, with customers' eyes on who will raise prices the most.
Norwegian news site ABC Nyheter ran a comparison in central Oslo to determine which supermarket, out of the stores considered the cheapest- Coop Extra, Kiwi and Rema 1000- had raised products the most. The site chose some of the products that households in Norway typically purchase the most.
These were Tine dairy butter, Norvegia 1 kg white cheese, Axa Oatmeal, Friele breakfast coffee 250 grams, Sopp's spaghetti 500 grams, Toro tomato soup with macaroni, Grandiosa original and Mills double pack real mayonnaise.
On average, the goods were most expensive in Coop Extra, costing 389 kroner. The cheese saw the most considerable price increase, going up nine percent. The same goods from Rema increased by 4.9 percent, costing 375 kroner. Kiwi had chosen to lock the prices of most of the goods in the basket, with the total coming to 355 kroner.
Norwegian newspaper VG and online news site E24 made a joint comparison and found that Rema and Coop Extra had raised prices by around 10 percent. Some of the items to see the most significant price hikes were Zalo dishwashing soap from Coop which increased by 43 percent to 39 kroner a bottle, and Mills caviar, which increased by 38 percent to 32 kroner.
However, these prices are not final and will likely change. For example, Coop Extra may decrease prices to align with the competition.
"There has always been tough price competition in the market, and we will continue to work to ensure that the cheapest trade always takes place at Extra, which recently came out the best of the nationwide chains in the previous major price test that was carried out," Harald Kristiansen, communications manager at Coop Norge, told ABC Nyheter.
Public broadcaster NRK's research found that toilet paper, detergents, coffee, chocolate and dairy products all saw significant increases. The reason for the price increases on many goods is due to suppliers increasing prices.
Line Aarnes has said that supermarket chains were doing their best to absorb increased costs and not pass them onto consumers.
"But almost 80 per cent of our costs are what we pay for the goods we buy. When the suppliers increase the price to us, unfortunately, the price in the store also increases. But we do not increase more than we have to," she told NRK.
Meanwhile, Norway's competition authority said it was pleased to see a difference in prices between the chains. This, it said, could be taken as a sign that there was still competition within the grocery market.
"The fact that there are different prices can indicate that there is competition. We are happy about that," Beate Bjerrefjord from the Norwegian Competition Authority told NRK.
The competition authority and the government have previously expressed concern that the supermarket industry uses the media to announce price hikes well ahead of time and have warned that it could amount to price collusion.
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