Hawke's Bay Today visited a selection of our
local supermarkets with an identical shopping
list to see who would give us the most change.
In tallying the results of our supermarket survey, it was clear that quality needn't be sacrificed if you're intent on saving money.
We discovered substantial price differences for identical products
across a variety of supermarkets.
In fact, depending on where you shop, you could save more than $15 for a trolley full of the same items.
Pak'nSave Hastings came out cheapest by a considerable margin over its competitors, followed closely by colleague Pak'nSave Napier, which secured second place.
David Smith, owner of Pak'nSave Hastings, said he wasn't surprised at the results.
"I guess we knew this already because we're constantly comparing prices ourselves, but it's great that an independent survey proved us right," Mr Smith said.
"As a group we decided not to advertise price or product and concentrate more on lowering prices."
At the other end of the scale, New World in Flaxmere was the most expensive supermarket.
Owner Harminder Chahal questioned the results and told Hawke's Bay Today he catered to a different market. He said that many of the lines demanded by Flaxmere residents were cheap in his store, yet were not included in the survey. "Can you tell me how much pig heads are? No you can't, because no one else sells them," he said. "You've concentrated on certain products only. We help the community by having the cheapest items in terms of what's bought in this area."
His stewing steak was "the cheapest in the New Zealand".
Hastings district councillor and Flaxmere resident Henare O'Keefe said he was "disappointed" at the result, given the supermarket was the only one in Flaxmere.
"It's a little sad because on the deprivation index we're the worst in the country," Mr O'Keefe said. "The people here can ill-afford it.
"If they can't afford the good food they need, then they'll eat rubbish like cheap takeaways."
He said he suspected many Flaxmere shoppers, including himself, often drove to Hastings to buy their groceries.
"It's a shame because I like to support Flaxmere businesses."
He suggested people should start growing their own vegetables to reduce grocery bills. "Grow as much of your own food as you can and make your own bread, like we used to do in the old days."
- Mark Story, staff reporters
