BY CHOOSING the right supermarket, you could save yourself up to a thousand euros a year. This is the conclusion drawn by leading consumer rights organisation, DECO from their latest survey.
Researchers visited 546 supermarkets, concluding that, in the competition for the lowest prices, Minipreço, Pingo Doce and Plus are out in front, beating the hypermarkets.
The study, in which around 65,000 different prices were compared, is published in the May issue of Deco Proteste magazine. One hundred and eleven different locations were visited in order to collect the data, from the Minho region down to the Algarve, not forgetting the islands.
Due to the fact that people buy various types of products, the survey was based on two different shopping trolleys.
Trolley number one contained 100 well defined branded products, sold in the majority of supermarkets, aimed at those who buy according to brand. Trolley number two contained 81 products, aimed at those who typically enter a supermarket and select their required products according to what are cheapest in price.
Minipreço and Pingo Doce came out on top for trolley number one, with Continente in second place and Intermarché, Ecomarché, Feira Nova and Jumbo finishing in joint third. Trailing in fourth were Carrefour, E.Leclerc, Modelo and Pão de Açúcar.
For trolley number two, Plus maintained its first place position again this year after stealing the top spot from Lidl back in 2004. Lidl, although in second place secured significant ground ahead of its nearest competitor, Continente. Carrefour and Jumbo came fourth and fifth respectively.
Algarve findings
In Faro, Pingo Doce, situated in Estrada de Penha came out top for those looking to purchase the products contained in trolley number one. Meanwhile, in Albufeira, Minipreço and Pingo Doce were the winners in this category.
The differences between prices in the same city can be enormous. Lisbon, Faro and Beja are the districts where the prices vary the most. “The consumer must choose their supermarket carefully. Why pay more when it is possible to obtain the same products for a lot less money?” alerts the article. In addition, a specific example is given in the Algarve. If a consumer is spending 250 euros a month in Alisuper in Albufeira, by simply opting to shop in Pingo Doce, also in Albufeira, the person could save 60 euros per month, or in other words, around 700 euros a year. So, by just walking a few metres down the street, it is possible to save hundreds of euros!
