GUNS and butter may have been the catch cry in Europe as war approached in the 1930s but in Wairarapa the cry is now gas and groceries.
Shoppers are cashing in at the pumps, taking advantage of a scramble for customers by supermarkets vying for market share.
The supermarkets are handing out
coupons for hefty discounts on petrol, under arrangements with oil companies, to shoppers who spend over nominated amounts in their store.
Traditionally the discounts in Wairarapa have been around 4c a litre but the ante has lifted with New World now offering 15c a litre for one-off fills of up to 150 litres and Woolworths trumping that with a 20c a litre offer but limiting single fuel purchases to 100 litres.
Pak n Save offers fuel discounts of 15c a litre with coupons only able to be redeemed at its own, on-site service station.
To qualify shoppers must spend over $20 at New World stores, including Shoprite, and over $40 at Woolworths or Pak n Save.
Participating service stations for cashing in on Woolworths coupons are Shell and Gull Service Stations and BP for New World.
According to service station staff throughout the district supermarket shoppers are certainly not shy presenting coupons with every second fuel customer cashing in.
Taking advantage of the 20c a litre offer this week means the cost of a 30-litre top up would be cut from around $46.80 to $40.80, give or take slight daily price fluctuations in petrol costs.
The coupons can be used for super or regular petrol, diesel or LPG and are valid for a month from the date of buying groceries.
The gas and groceries discounts started in earnest in New Zealand late last year, although modest discount schemes had existed, and supermarket chains show no signs of capping them.
Cut-price fuel linked to grocery buying has been a feature of marketing in Australia for years and, although popular, has run into some resistance as consumer groups claim the supermarket chains are simply loading the price of groceries to compensate for the fuel "giveaways".
