Impacted by the fluctuating COVID-19 situation in the past 2 years, the grocery price in Hong Kong has seen a largely upward trend due to the disrupted global supply chain. In the early days of the outbreak in 2020, many foodstuffs and daily necessities at supermarkets became the target of panic buying, resulting in supply shortage and soaring prices. By 2021 the pandemic had slightly eased, yet the Consumer Council’s annual supermarket survey 2021 revealed that the aggregate average price of a basket of 230 supermarket items showed merely a slight 1.9% drop compared with that of 2020. Despite the subsequent price dip for various groceries, the percentage decrease could not offset the increase in the previous year. For example, the average price for 1 model of canned fish and 1 model of canned meat in 2021 still showed a 17.2% and 28% rise in comparison to 2019, meaning that consumers are still feeling the pinch of rising costs.
During Hong Kong’s fifth wave of the COVID-19 outbreak in early 2022, panic buying reemerged across supermarkets, causing the price of certain items to swell. To investigate the supermarket price trends under the pandemic, the Council utilised the supermarket price comparison tool “Online Price Watch” (“OPW”) to collect price data on a total of 90 grocery items under 11 product groups from 3 local supermarkets from January to March 2022 (as of 23 March). The survey found the aggregate average price of 63 items available at all 3 supermarkets to have risen 4.2% in March compared with that in January, while that for the 27 items only sold at 2 supermarkets were found to have an 8.3% increase. The aggregate average price of all 11 product groups recorded an increase ranging from 0.2% to 24.8%, while the 3 groups with the steepest price rise, namely prepackaged cakes, rice and eggs, increased by 8.2% to 24.8%.
With the economy and the public’s livelihood battered by the pandemic, consumers are faced with increased financial burden. The Council urges traders to shoulder their social responsibility and tide over the tough times with consumers, by stablising the price of food and daily necessities to their best effort. At the same time, when replenishing daily necessities, consumers should shop around and use price comparison tools wisely to mitigate burden on household expenses. According to the data from OPW, the average price of over 60% goods could vary by over 10% to 50% across different supermarkets. If a consumer bought 20 frequently purchased household items from different supermarkets, opting for the cheapest option based on OPW, they might save around 15% in expenses as compared with buying all items from a single supermarket.
Slight Drop in Annual Supermarket Prices for 2021;
Still Higher than Pre-pandemic Days
Utilising the scan data of supermarkets, the Council’s annual supermarket price survey 2021 analysed the aggregate average price (in short, “price”) of a basket of 230 items from 3 major supermarket chains in Hong Kong (AEON, PARKnSHOP, and Wellcome and its subsidiary supermarket brands), revealing a year-on-year drop of 1.9%. However, the percentage price decrease of some items still could not offset the price rise of the previous year.
Amongst the 51 product groups under 13 categories, only the “staple food” category recorded a rise of 0.1%, of which the “cooking oil” group saw a 2.6% rise in price in the past year. 5 out of the 7 models of cooking oil in this group recorded an increase in average price, the highest being 13.2% for a model of corn oil.
The “canned food” category, which recorded the highest percentage price rise in 2020, saw the steepest drop of 5.3% in last year’s survey. The price of 3 product groups in this category dropped by 4.5% to 8.4%, amongst which “canned vegetables/soup” had the sharpest percentage decrease. The price for “canned meat” and “canned fish”, which are common reserve foods for consumers, dropped by 4.9% and 4.5% respectively in 2021, of which all 6 items in the “canned meat” group dropped in average price but were still 15% to 28% higher than 2019 before the COVID-19 outbreak. For instance, the average price of 1 model of canned luncheon meat was $10.7, $14.2 and $13.7 in 2019, 2020 and 2021 respectively, meaning that its price in 2021 was still 28% higher than in 2019. In the “canned fish” group, as 1 model recorded a surge of more than 20% in 2020, its average price in 2021 ($27.2) was still 17.2% higher than in 2019 ($23.2).
The price of the “frozen food” category, another popular household storage food, remained unchanged in 2021, but “frozen pastry” under this category had recorded a 3.4% upswing. Besides, the “frozen dim sum/meals” group in this product category had spiked by 10.1% in 2020 while merely dropping 1.4% in 2021, reflecting that prices are still high. Taking for example the model of fresh shrimp wonton with the greatest percentage price decrease, despite its average price dropping 5.6%, the percentage drop was still unable to offset the steep increase of 19% recorded in 2020.
Rice, which was a target of panic buying during the early stage of the pandemic in 2020, finally recorded a slight 2% dip in 2021 after 3 consecutive years of price increase (2018:10.7%; 2019: 8.5%; 2020: 4.7%). Out of the 9 models of rice within this group, apart from 1 that rose by 7.6% in average price, the remaining 8 models recorded percentage price drops from 0.6% to 5.4%.
Across all product groups in the past year, “potato chips/crisps” recorded the most significant percentage increase in aggregate average price (4.1%), whereas “sanitary protection products” and “toothpastes” recorded the steepest drop of 12.1% and 9.2% respectively.
Price Rise for Some Supermarket Items in March Amidst the 5th Wave
When the fifth wave of the pandemic broke out in early 2022, the Council utilised the data from OPW to compare the prices of a total of 90 items under 11 product groups across 2 or 3 online supermarkets. The items included rice, canned foods, instant noodles, prepackaged bread and cakes, eggs and toilet paper, etc. The survey first compared their average prices in Feburary and January, and that for March and February, then compared the average price difference between March and January. The results revealed that the prices for both February and March were higher than that of the previous month. For the 63 items available at all 3 supermarkets, their price in February was 2.9% higher than that in January, while that in March was 1.2% higher than that in February. Upon comparing the March and January data, the price rose by 4.2%.
The survey revealed that at the height of the fifth wave in March, when the public was stocking up in preparation for staying home and panic buying reemerged, all 11 product groups recorded an increase in price, ranging from 0.2% to 24.8%, of which the 4 groups with the highest percentage rise were all common reserve foods, namely “prepackaged cakes” (24.8%), “rice” (9.2%), “eggs” (8.2%) and “canned vegetables/soup” (6.8%).
If the average price difference between March and January for each supermarket was analysed individually, Supermarket A recorded an increase in price across all 11 product groups, with the steepest rise being “prepackaged cakes” at 46.8%; Supermarket B showed a price increase for 10 product groups, amongst which “rice” rose the most, by 11.4%; Supermarket C, despite only carrying 7 of the product groups, recorded a rise in price across all 7 groups, with “rice” also being the one with the greatest percentage increase at 8.3%. Upon reviewing the aggregate average price percentage increase of the 7 product groups (63 items) across the 3 supermarkets, the highest was Supermarket A (5.5%), followed by Supermarket B (4.8%) and Supermarket C (2.2%).
Use “Online Price Watch” Wisely to Save 15% in Expenses
According to the survey, the online retail price of the same product could vary across different supermarkets. Taking for instance the average price of 90 items in March, aside from 1 item, the difference between the highest and lowest average price for the same product at different supermarkets ranged from 0.1% to the highest of 55%, of which over 60% of the goods (57 items) recorded an average price difference of over 10%. Products with the hugest disparity were mainly from the “canned meat”, “canned vegetables/soup”, “canned fish”, “instant noodles”, “toilet paper/boxed facial tissues” and “frozen dim sum/meat” groups. Owing to the considerable price difference for the same product across supermarkets, as the prices of groceries and daily necessities continue to swell, consumers are recommended to compare prices and make good use of OPW to shop smart.
The survey selected 20 common household items as an example. If a consumer habitually purchases all the items from Supermarket A, the total spend would be $664.4. On the contrary, if the consumer first compares prices using the Council’s OPW, then purchases the lowest-priced items at different supermarkets, the total cost would amount to around $567.1, equivalent to 15% ($97.3) in savings. Daily household expenses may seem trivial, but small amounts could add up, especially if one does supermarket runs several times a month, comparing prices wisely could bring greater savings.
The Council will continue to monitor the fluctuation in product prices amidst the pandemic and disseminate relevant information in a timely manner, so as to remind the public to choose wisely. Consumers can also browse the web or mobile version of the Council’s “Online Price Watch” (https://online-price-watch.consumer.org.hk) to compare grocery prices amongst 6 supermarket chains, food shops and personal care stores. The prices of over 2,300 popular items are updated daily, allowing consumers to fully grasp the price trends without having to visit the stores in person.
Download the article (Chinese only): https://ccchoice.org/546pricewatch
Consumer Council reserves all its right (including copyright) in respect of CHOICE magazine and Online CHOICE.