New World is the only supermarket in Wairoa District. Photo / NZME
New World is the only supermarket in Wairoa District. Photo / NZME
Wairoa residents “aren’t getting a good deal” by only having one supermarket, however prices at the supermarket are similar to other New Worlds around Hawke’s Bay and aren’t being hiked, a new study has found.
Consumer NZ has released a study surveying three regional towns – Wairoa, Waimate and Hokitika– that rely on one supermarket each.
“We wanted to find out if the major supermarkets are increasing their prices in the regions if there’s no local competition,” the study stated.
Online prices for a basket of 20 common grocery items were tracked for six weeks.
On average, the cost at Wairoa New World was $120.04 for Clubcard members and $126.04 for non-members.
“That’s less than $1 more than the Hastings New World basket, so we were pleased these prices were comparable.
A table from the Consumer NZ study. Photo / Consumer NZ
“But when it comes to cheaper prices in general, Wairoa residents aren’t getting a good deal.
“The same basket of goods at Pak’nSave Napier was on average $109.30, nearly $11 a week cheaper than New World Clubcard members would have paid in Wairoa. That adds up to more than $550 a year.”
Wairoa used to have two supermarkets but has relied on one supermarket for about a decade.
Wairoa District has a population of almost 9000 people, and the next-closest supermarkets are a long drive in Napier or Gisborne.
Wairoa does have an independent grocer (Richies), which offers the likes of fresh fruit, veges and other and basics, and Woolworths Gisborne and Mad Butcher Napier offer deliveries (with a delivery cost).
Wairoa resident Frank King said it was good to have a New World in town and it was convenient.
“It hasn’t really bothered us,” he said, of having just one supermarket.
“Both of us work – we are still working – and it’s a necessity, we just get what we need.”
He said in the past, when there were two supermarkets, it certainly helped being able to shop around for deals.
He said he knew “quite a few people” who did make the trip to the likes of Pak’nSave Napier but, in his view, unless it was a large shop it was not worth it for the price of petrol.
Wairoa Financial Literacy Services secretary-manager Ngaio Bell said the community had been struggling with the cost of living, compounded by two major floods (Cyclone Gabrielle and the June 2024 floods).
She said not having a second supermarket had an impact on residents and New World was the highest-priced of the three major supermarkets, as highlighted in the study.
“It’s hard for this community,” she said.
“We are seeing the same story – just insufficient funds for the basic costs of living and it’s depressing.”
New World is owned by Foodstuffs. A Foodstuffs spokeswoman said New World had proudly served Wairoa for over 20 years.
“It’s important to us that we serve communities right across the country and offer customers a fair deal, whether they live in our biggest cities or most remote towns, and this includes areas such as Wairoa which has no other supermarkets.
“Supplying remote communities such as Wairoa would be much more expensive without the support of our strong, interconnected logistics network.”
Individual store owners set final in-store prices.
Gary Hamilton-Irvine is a Hawke’s Bay-based reporter who covers a range of news topics including business, councils, breaking news and cyclone recovery. He formerly worked at News Corp Australia.
