In 2023 checked The online newspaper prices at the discount chains Kiwi, Extra and Rema 1000 six times: In January, April, June, July, September and November.
A total of 361 prices were checked at each of them. In total, there were goods for over NOK 14,000.
And overall, it is the Rema 1000 that comes out the cheapest. But the differences are extremely small.
– Indisputable!
Between No. 1 and No. 2, only NOK 23 and 33 øre separate on a shopping basket of over NOK 14,000.
Rema 1000 is no mean feat and resorts to its well-known slogan when commenting on the result.
– It is the final sum on the cash register that counts, and this overview shows that it is also the final sum on the price tests that counts, says sales and marketing director Pia Mellbye.
Rema also recently won the food exchange in VG, where Kiwi ended up in fourth place. At Nettavisen, it is second place on Kiwi when we add up all the year’s price tests.
Nevertheless, Kiwi claims that they are essentially the cheapest chain.
– Price surveys deal with a smaller selection of goods, and it is often the same goods that are repeated. Kiwi checks prices with low-cost competitors every single day. We know that Kiwi is the cheapest of the chains, that is indisputable, says communications director Kristine Arvin.
The Consumer Council reacts
In any case, the differences are small when we sum up the tests for 2023:
- Rema 1000: DKK. 14,414.61
- Kiwi: Cr. 14,437.94 (+ kr. 23.33)
- Extra: DKK 14,493.34 (+ DKK 78.73)
Between Rema and Kiwi, the price difference is only 0.16 per cent. Between Rema and Extra the difference is 0.55 per cent.
The Consumer Council and professional director Olav Kasland comment on the result as follows:
– For all practical purposes, price differences are non-existent, says specialist director of the Consumer Council, Olav Kasland.
The final sum is quite similar and many items have the same price at all three chains. This applies to a total of 282 out of 361 items that were checked.
– We believe that the competition in the grocery market is too bad. We believe that when the prices are so similar, the most important thing for the chains is to be marginally cheaper.
Spying on each other
Nettavisen recently wrote about the grocery chains’ extensive . Among other things, a document from Kiwi owner Norgesgruppen showed that they had checked prices at Extra 14 times around the country within a few hours.
Kasland believes there would have been greater price differences if there had been better competition.
– The chain with the worst purchasing conditions makes the list. And those who have the best purchasing conditions are left with more money, says Kasland.
Kasland hints at the Competition Authority’s previous statements that Kiwi owner Norgesgruppen has better purchasing conditions than its competitors.
The biggest differences
The online newspaper has done three price tests in 2023 and the three chains have won two tests each. The last one in November was won by Extra, with Rema second and Kiwi in last place.
Although many prices are exactly the same, sometimes the price tests also show larger differences:
These are some of the biggest differences we found in 2023:
November: Gildes Wienerpølser
- Extras: NOK 59.90
- Kiwi: Cr. 67.90 (+ kr. 8.00)
- Rema 1000: DKK. 67.90 (+8.00)
September: Pasta sauce, Dolmio Classico
- Kiwi: NOK 25.90
- Rema 1000: DKK 25.90
- Extra: DKK 30.40 (+ DKK 4.50)
July: Toilet paper Lambi 20 pk.
- Extra: NOK 129.00
- Kiwi: NOK 129.00
- Rema 1000: DKK. 138.63 (+ DKK 9.63)
June: Raspberries, 125 g
- Kiwi: NOK 29.90
- Rema 1000: DKK 29.90
- Extra: DKK 39.90 (+ DKK 10.00)
April: Fenalår, Stranda, 100 g
- Kiwi: SEK 52.30
- Rema 1000: DKK 52.30
- Extra: DKK 61.20 (+ DKK 8.90)
January: Nidar Favorites, Troika, 300 g
- Kiwi: SEK 32.40
- Rema 1000: DKK 32.40
- Extra: DKK 34.90 (+ DKK 2.50)
– A rat race to the bottom
Professor Tor Wallin Andreassen is satisfied with the competition situation.
– When the prices are so similar, customers really have no incentive to change shops. You get mostly the same goods, and at identical prices, says Andreassen, who is a professor at the Norwegian School of Economics (NHH).
– Is the competition good?
– We get a flattening and intense price competition. But I miss that the chains don’t compete more on different concepts, says Andreassen and adds:
– We are happy about low prices. Hallelujah for that. But are we really served by a rat race to the bottom?
– Three Siamese twins
He believes that it is others than the traditional grocery players who are at the forefront when it comes to innovation.
– The grocery chains must be careful. New players are coming in that are eating up market shares, such as Normal. Foodora has also started home delivery of groceries, says Andreassen.
– The low-price chains are like three Siamese twins drowning together. It seems that none of them dare to break out and stand out, he says.
This is how the chains respond:
Nettavisen has asked the three chains why customers should choose them in particular, when the prices are almost exactly the same at all three.
REMA 1000: – We want to be the cheapest grocery store in the country, and we ensure this through low costs and efficient operations, says sales and marketing director Pia Mellbye.
– The competition is great and we price match campaigns that our competitors run, even though we have our own campaigns, she says.
KIWI: – Kiwi is the price pusher, and we have proven that time and time again. We were the ones who held back the prices on 1 February, we were the ones who started the price war on fish, says communications director Kristine Arvin.
– But I think the most important competitive advantage is our people. When Hjemmet named the year’s kindest cashiers, there were Kiwis in first, second and third place, she says.
EXTRA: – Because we are the cheapest and have the largest selection. At Extra, customers get the lowest prices, weekly offers and campaigns, in addition to membership benefits and purchase dividends, says communications director Harald Kristiansen.
– Purchase yield amounts to at least one percent, and means that Extra will be the cheapest when all price tests are considered together, he says.
2023-12-25 14:55:19
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