As much as 100 kroner separates the total price of the shopping basket in the most expensive and cheapest chain in our pizza test this week. Norway’s most popular pizza has also become up to 60 percent more expensive.
We have tested the prices at eight different grocery stores this week, and there are large price differences on some of the pizzas. We tested frozen pizza from different brands, and at different types of chains.
Some of the pizzas are up to twice as expensive at some chains!
Rune Nikolaisen, who is behind Gjerrigknark.com, points out that frozen pizza is a classic impulse purchase for many consumers. And if you go to the store hungry, you can therefore lose money.
– This is the “worst case scenario” for your wallet. When you do not know what to have for dinner, you often choose something convenient – for example a frozen pizza, he says.
In the pizza test we have set up two tables. In the first table, we will look at the prices at six of the chains, before in table two we will look at only four selected pizzas – which were only the ones we found at Bunnpris – at all the eight grocery players.
We have tested different types of Grandiosa, Big One, pizza from Dr. Oetker, and one from Peppe’s Pizza.
In total, there are two chains that stand out in the crowd.
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Beaten by over 100 kroner
In the first table, we have compared the low-price chains Kiwi, Rema 1000 and Extra, as well as Meny, Coop Mega and Kolonial.no.
Rema has a total price of NOK 510.80 compared to NOK 533.30 at the other two low-price chains. It is the price of Peppe’s Pizza Farmer’s Meat Ham & Bacon 525 grams that gives the result in the total price, as this pizza is just about 23 kroner cheaper at Rema than at Extra and Kiwi.
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The total price of the other three chains, on the other hand, is far higher. At Kolonial.no, the nine items cost a total of NOK 592.90, at Meny the total price is NOK 623, while at Coop Mega you have to pay as much as NOK 634.80.
This is where Coop Mega stands out. The figures above show that you have to pay 124 kroner more for exactly the same items at Coop Mega than you have to at Rema.
It is especially the price for Ristorante Mozzarella 2 pk, 670 grams that stands out at Coop Mega and Meny, and which is one of the reasons why they are far higher than the others in the total price of the shopping cart. It is 33.90 kroner more expensive there than at the low-price chains. Here it must be pointed out that these two chains did not sell a 2 pk, and we therefore had to take as a starting point the price for two individual pizzas.
Twice as expensive
It’s not just Coop Mega that stands out – in a negative sense. The Joker must also be beaten by the competition, when we now look at table two.
Dr. Oetker Rustica Pizza Double Pepperoni 656 grams is twice as expensive at Joker as at Bunnpris. However, this can be explained by the fact that Bunnpris has 40 percent on all pizzas from Dr. Oetker this week. Nevertheless, the difference is startling: It costs NOK 49.74 on the Bottom Price and NOK 96.90 on the Joker.
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Due to the offer this week, Bunnpris also comes out better than the low-price chains at Ristorante Mozzarella 2pk 670 grams, where they are about ten kroner cheaper than Kiwi, Rema and Extra. However, this pizza is not in the shopping cart in table two, as we did not find it on Joker. Menu and Coop Mega come out worst on this pizza – with a price of 93.80 kroner.
Bottom price also comes out of the shopping basket overall, on the four selected pizzas that are included in table two. They come in fourth place, right after the discount chains. Then follow Meny, Kolonial.no, Coop Mega and Joker.
When we talk about doubling the price of frozen pizza, it is also worth mentioning the price of Grandiosa original. There are admittedly no major differences between the chains, but this type is often on offer.
Earlier in October, the original Grandiosa pizza cost only NOK 29.90 at Kiwi, Rema and Extra, a result of the price cut Kiwi implemented in August. Now the price is NOK 47.90 at the low-price chains, a price increase of as much as 60 percent.
– Not to the benefit of consumers
Nikolaisen in Gjerrigknark.com says that impulse purchases of pizza provide good money at the checkout for the chains.
– There is money to be made for the food chains. But you who shop for ready-made pizza often, may know that almost every week there are one or more chains that offer different varieties. With a little planning, you can quickly save money, he says.
However, he believes the chains are a little too good to follow each other on price, as the tables above also show.
– It is not necessarily to the benefit of consumers. But at the same time, it is possible to get cheaper prices if you check which chain offers pizza, he says.
– There will always be a difference
The online newspaper has spoken with communications manager Harald Kristiansen in Coop, to hear what he thinks about the total price difference in the shopping cart between Coop Mega and the low-price chains.
– There will always be a slight difference in price between the discount chains and supermarkets, but also selection and personal service, he says.
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NOK 100 in price difference is a lot, but Coop justifies the price difference. Kristiansen says that it is more expensive to run a supermarket, because there is a much larger selection of goods than at the low-price chains, in addition to the fact that you can get personal service in fresh food counters.
– It costs more money, and therefore many items are also a little higher in price. At the same time, it is important to point out that there is tough competition among the low-price chains, which means that some goods here can have “abnormally” low prices and are sometimes sold at a loss, says Kristiansen.
– Therefore, we will also be able to get a larger gap between the prices at the supermarket and the low-price chains, he says.
At the same time, he points out that Coop Mega has a number of special offers every week, so it is possible to make good purchases at supermarkets as well. Kristiansen then believes that the total difference in the shopping baskets is not always so great.
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