The matter in summary Despite the low prices, few of the items are marked as offers. The price war leads to such frequent price changes that the shops do not have time to advertise the rawest offers. Grocery expert Odd Gisholt believes that customers are the big winners in the price war, but that they must be observant to make the best purchases. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAI. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. “In the barn sits Santa with his Christmas porridge, so good and sweet.” And if the Christmas porridge was bought now in December, it is likely that Santa’s Christmas porridge was dirt cheap! In some chains, a portion of ready-made Christmas porridge has cost less than four kroner. In addition, the chains are reducing the price of other typical Christmas goods, including Christmas beer, which is receiving strong criticism from several quarters. But very few, if any, of the Christmas items are marked with “offers”. Don’t the shops want to advertise the cheap goods as much as possible? news has asked the grocery chains why this is so. Chain director Håvard Jensen in Extra says there are “crazy conditions” in the stores before Christmas. Turnover in the stores increases week by week in December, and week 51 is the week of the year with the highest turnover. The biggest trading day of the year is Christmas Eve. Photo: Espen Solli / news – A result of price competition – The items in the Christmas price war are not marked as offers, as the items are not part of an ordinary campaign, but the result of tough price competition with frequent price adjustments, says chain director Håvard Jensen in Extra. And the price war is tough, Jensen is to be believed. Some popular Christmas items have fallen over 80 per cent in price in the last few days alone, he says. This is what Kiwi says – When competitors run short-term offers, we reduce the price by the same amount or more for the same product in the same period. That’s what communications director Kristine Aakvaag Arvin in Kiwi told news. – These goods are not marked in store, but customers can follow KIWI’s price check at kiwi.no. – Now before Christmas, there is fierce competition, and many goods have been pushed down in price, without them being on campaign or being marketed as such. All goods must still be marked with a price, either electronically or on a poster, so that the customer can make an informed choice. – For reasons of competition, I cannot comment on profitability, but there is no hiding the fact that the price war is costing us a lot and many products now have a “give away price”. A similar explanation comes from press contact for Rema 1000, Hege Rognlien. According to Rema 1000’s press contact, Hege Rognlien, the price war already started in mid-November. Photo: Rema – When the competition is extra high, there are more frequent price cuts on goods that are not necessarily included in these activities and for which there is no advertising, she says. Rema 1000 dumped the first prices already in mid-November, says Rognlien. The price war therefore leads to such frequent price changes that the shops do not have time to advertise the best offers. This is what Meny Photo says: MENU – The price war, where certain items are often reduced in price several times during a shorter period, is not part of a planned campaign or a price offer. These are “ordinary prices”, which due to has competition being pushed down, says communications manager Nina Horn Hynne in Meny. – When it comes to profitability, for reasons of competition, we do not want to comment on it. And if you have already marked an item with an offer, the price war can lead to strange results on the shelves. Like Coop’s own chocolate bag – which you can get for “2 for NOK 45” (ie NOK 22.50 per piece) – or NOK 13.90 for one bag. While the electronic price tags are updated automatically, the physical offer labels must be replaced manually. Then strange rashes can occur. Photo: Tipper Grocery expert: – The customers are the winners Someone who knows well how the grocery industry works is economist and grocery expert Odd Gisholt. He believes that customers who follow the prices on the shop shelves can make some real bargains before Christmas. – It is the customers who have everything to gain from this, but it is important to be observant and follow along. Odd Gisholt is a civil economist, former researcher and comes from a family of wholesalers. Photo: William Jobling / news Gisholt is clear that the price war is not bringing in a ringing coin in the coffers of the shops. – Those who lose from this, and perhaps even sell at a loss, are the shops. So why do the stores do this? – Yes, because the grocery market is fairly flat, and there is not room for that much growth. So if you want to survive, you have to capture customers from the competitor. They do this by trying to tell the customers that “come to us, it’s the cheapest here”, he says and adds: – Then there are some who sell the ribs at a loss. It’s stupid for the store, but good for us. – Are the producers also suffering from this price war? – They must probably be with them too. But how much the suppliers and the trade themselves lose from this is not good to know. All stages take their share of the loss so that the customers get such good conditions. Here, the price drop on the digital price tag went faster than the poor poster that hangs below. Cooked Christmas sausage for under NOK 10. Twist normally costs around NOK 80, now it’s down to NOK 34. Many who want their Christmas porridge at a reduced price must go home sloppy. – Not everything is equally favorable Price wars are not unique to Christmas, but that is when it is fiercest, says Gisholt. – There is a certain price war throughout the year, but it is the holidays that stand out. Christmas, Easter and to some extent around Midsummer. He nevertheless offers a warning to those who think that you should go bananas on the store shelves in December. – Customers must be very observant, because not everything is equally favorable. There are a few articles that are constantly in focus: marzipan, snacks, ribs and so on. Then there may be other articles whose prices increase slightly – without us noticing. – Have you taken advantage of any good Christmas offers so far? – Yes, and I’m going to the store a little later today to see if I can find more offers. The price difference is large between small and large gingerbread houses from Berthas. If you buy 60 grams more gingerbread houses, the price is NOK 27 cheaper. Photo: Adrian Dahl Johansen / news Published 12.12.2024, at 23.29
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