Inflation in supermarkets at the lowest level in two years according to Testaankoop: these products are now cheaper

Every month, Testaankoop compares the prices of more than three thousand products in seven supermarket chains and calculates its own ‘supermarket inflation’ based on that basket. It was 2.73 percent in March. This means that the prices for the Testaankoop shopping cart are now 2.73 percent higher than the same shopping cart in March last year.

For the first time since June 2022, supermarket inflation is lower than ‘official’ inflation. This means that the supermarket bill rises less quickly than the average lifespan in our country, which also takes into account prices for, for example, plane tickets, services and energy.

So there is still a price increase, but a year ago supermarket inflation was still 20.62 percent. Since that peak, price increases have decreased every month.

Some products cheaper

Although prices have risen on average, Testaankoop also sees that a number of important products are cheaper today than last year. Bread for example, now costs 2.7 percent less than last year semi-skimmed milk you pay 3.5 percent less and cling film and aluminum foil are even 7 percent cheaper than last year.

Small side note: these products first rose sharply in price last year: in two years, bread became 24 percent more expensive and dairy 28 percent. Since January 2022, the first month with supermarket inflation above 2 percent, products in the supermarket have been on average a quarter more expensive (26 percent).

The consumer organization does not expect further sharp price drops. Testaankoop expects that prices will stagnate on average, and that there will be no compensation for the enormous increases of the past year. “However, the declines in raw material prices and energy prices indicate that there is room for price declines,” says spokesperson Ortwin Huysmans. “Taankoop continues to strive for a re-evaluation of the entire food chain, so that costs can be shared between all actors. In our opinion, the rising costs are now disproportionately borne by the consumer.”