Families not only have to contend with the significant increase in the price of food, but their regular expenses have also increased from the rise in basic pharmacy prices. And some, kitchen rolls have risen in price by nearly 100 percent year on year, paper handkerchiefs by nearly half, and the price of toilet paper has risen by a quarter. This is clear from data from the Heureka comparison tool, which has mapped the prices of national e-shops. Inflation therefore forced the Czechs to change their shopping habits.
“We see year-over-year price increases in almost every category we have on Heureka. While in some cases it’s a sudden price increase, in many categories it’s a gradual but long-term trend that started at the beginning of this year. year, “says Michal Buzek, chief analyst at Heureka, on Internet price trends.
The sharp rise in the price of basic products in pharmacies, which includes toilet paper, handkerchiefs and tea towels, is mainly due to the increase in paper prices around the world. “Furthermore, however, the paper industry is very energy-intensive, mainly thanks to natural gas, which, in my opinion, is the main reason why paper hygiene products are so expensive,” notes the analyst of Akcenta Miroslav Novák.
“Last but not least, we have a relatively strong demand here for this type of goods, which will now be exacerbated by seasonality – an increase in respiratory diseases and a greater interest in paper tissues,” continues the analyst.
These are all reasons why Czech shoppers have approached shopping differently in recent weeks. “Customers now think more about their purchases and we can see from the data that even in many categories they are more likely to buy more advantageous packaging of multiple pieces, various multipacks, which can ultimately reduce the final price of the unit product,” he explains. Heureka analyst Buzek.
For comparison, at this time of last year, for example, the best-selling baby diaper pack on the Internet was between 30 and 40 pieces. “This year, the best-selling megapacks are 240 and 176 pieces. And of course this is also reflected in the price. It has increased by 16% year over year,” explains Heureka Buzek.
It’s the same with the toilet paper shopping. While last year the best-selling packs were 8 and 16 pieces, this year the 48 and 32 pieces are at the top of the sales. In the toilet paper category, the price increased 23% year-on-year.
The price of sanitary pads has also increased, in August it was 11% higher than last year. In July, however, their price fell by a fifth year over year.
Czechs pay more for the heat
The Heureka comparison tool also analyzed which commodities increased the most in price year over year. At the same time, the results show that the uncertainty linked to the increase in energy prices and the fear of their shortage in the coming cold months has been reflected in the price offers.
Therefore, customers became more interested in the range of heating on the Internet, which was also reflected in its price increase. Interest in categories such as fireplaces, boilers, solid fuel stoves, heat pumps and stoves has increased by hundreds of percentage points in recent months.
“Perhaps the average price of heat pumps jumped 250% more in August than last year. The average price of a heat pump is currently 61,000 crowns, but in April it was 163,000 crowns,” Buzek continues. “Similar fluctuations with a jump in the price suffered in April, ie after the outbreak of the crisis in Ukraine, are observed in almost all categories linked to warming”, she specifies.
The average price of fireplace stoves has also risen by half to the current 26,000 crowns, and the prices of boilers and stoves have also risen by 50 percent.
The same merchants are also seeing considerable interest in energy-saving devices. “We are seeing a huge increase in sales of smart home products that help save energy. Typically these are smart plugs, thermostats, adjustable heating heads and other products. These can save up to 50% of energy consumption. , depending on how they are used, and the return on investment is at today’s energy prices, within a few months, ”says David Fuchs, chairman of the board of Agora DMT, a national electronics importer.
Electronics prices continue to fall
However, there are still products on the market that make them cheaper, according to the purchase analysis. According to Heureka, this is the case with graphics cards or perhaps dryers.
Graphics cards, on the other hand, are an example of goods whose average price has been falling since December, halving in six months. In a year-over-year comparison, the current average price of graphics cards is 12,147 crowns, 36% lower than last year.
The price of paddleboards, sports testers or dryers also fell. Currently they can be purchased for an average of 8,560 crowns, a quarter less than last year. TVs have become cheaper year on year by 9% to the current average of 13,500 kronor.
According to Heureka, the reason is mainly the seasonality of the products, their current status in stock and the pricing policy of the individual e-shops. “So there can be huge price differences between individual offers, thanks to which it is sometimes possible to save 50 percent of the product price,” warns the price comparator.
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