Shopping experiment comparing near-identical shopping trolleys one year apart highlights price pressures

A shopping experiment comparing near-identical shopping trolleys one year apart has laid bare the cost-of-living pressures that are causing many household budgets to crack, with a difference at the checkout of up to almost 18 per cent. The Geraldton Guardian used shopping receipts from Woolworths Seacrest in July and August last year and went out to replicate them last week. The two trolleys were almost identical except for a handful of items that were out of stock. In those cases, the Guardian chose the closest alternative in type of product and price. In the first shop of 36 items, the total was $136.94 in July 2021. Last week, the same shop totalled $154.49 — $17.55 more expensive, or a rise of almost 13 per cent. The second shopping list of 61 items came to $235.80 in August last year. Last week, the receipt’s tally was $277.58 — a difference of $41.78, or an increase of 17.7 per cent. Sobering news from the Australian Bureau of Statistics this week revealed households across the country are experiencing the highest inflation in two decades amid a warning from the Federal Government it’s only going to get worse. Cost of living in Perth surged to a nation-leading 7.4 per cent in the past year, while the national inflation rate in the June quarter was 6.1 per cent. In WA, inflation was driven by furniture, up 6.8 per cent — the highest since September 2013 — new home purchases by owner-occupiers, up 4.8 per cent, petrol, up 3.4 per cent, and medical and hospital services, up 1.9 per cent. Food-wise, fruit was up 8.7 per cent, vegetables 5.8 per cent, bread 4.7 per cent, and cereal and eggs 3.8 per cent. Most households are feeling the pinch of soaring grocery prices, along with other costs of living, but especially low-income households who are being forced to make sacrifices to ensure they don’t go hungry. Foodbank Geraldton manager Jamie O’Brien said a $60 spend at Foodbank used to be equivalent to about $150 worth of groceries from a regular supermarket. “Now $50 or $60 worth of groceries (at Foodbank) is more equivalent to $200 (at a regular store),” he said. He said rising inflation had seen an influx of customers come through Foodbank’s doors. “We get a lot of comments about how much they get compared with what they would at the supermarket,” Mr O’Brien said. “Every Foodbank is experiencing increased trade at the moment. “We used to deal with about 450 people a week, now it’s about 500 to 550 a week, if not more. “Our quiet days are no longer quiet.” Mr O’Brien said surging grocery prices had taken a toll on his own family’s buying power each week. “We are a family of four, and it costs us significantly more to feed our family,” he said. “We would probably spend about $300-$350 a week, and it’s heading more towards the $450 mark. We shop at Coles. “These are the times when people need to consider if Foodbank is a good option for them.” The Guardian spoke to multiple shoppers outside Coles Northgate this week, including mother-of-one Katie Pierotti, who said the rising prices in the supermarket meant she had to go without cooked meals every night, or sometimes skips meals, to meet her grocery budget. “It’s almost like every time you do your weekly shop, it feels like a product price has increased,” she said. “I have a certain amount I dedicate towards my budget, and going back to when I was a parent three years ago, now my usual budget doesn’t cover it.” Ms Pierotti said she lived pay cheque to pay cheque, and not everyone had the money to cover the cost of food. “Some people have the money to keep up with it,” she said. “You can’t keep up with the bills, food and petrol. By the time you’ve done that you feel like there’s nothing left.” Ms Pierotti said she had to substitute luxuries to afford necessary grocery items, and there were some nights where she couldn’t afford to fork out the money for ingredients to cook a family meal. “If you want to do a roast, it’s just too much. I go for the quick and easy meals because that’s all I can afford,” she said. “I find myself going towards soups and noodles for my son if I’m not hungry. That’s what we mainly rely on. I can’t keep up with all the other prices,” she said. “If I do a proper meal, I’ll container it. But I’ve given up on cooking every night because I just can’t afford to anymore. “By the time you get all the ingredients for a decent meal, your pay cheque is gone.” Wonthella resident Linda Pitt said although she had noticed the rise in grocery prices, she didn’t believe they were as shocking as the increases over east. “I haven’t seen a lettuce going for $12 each or anything like that,” she said. “The weight has gone down a little bit. Instead of 350g you’re getting 300g. Which is sort of a hidden grocery price increase.” “It has gone up, there’s no doubt about it. But they would go up anyway. Nothing is stable.” Buying healthy is a priority for Kelsey O’Malley, but she admits that has definitely put a bigger dent in her budget. “I find every week we usually spend about $250 for two of us. Now we’re spending $350 to $400. So it’s a pretty big jump, and that’s for healthy food,” she said. “It’s not great especially when I’m not working and child care costs so much. We still want to eat healthy but it’s one of those things we can’t do much about. “I’m trying to buy cheaper meats and have more veggies, but even the veggies are costing a lot. The quality of veggies are being impacted.” Ms O’Malley said she tried to order food online but the produce was frequently unavailable. “I come in (to the store) and I end up spending more anyway,” she said. Geraldton pensioner Bruce Hankin said shopping was a difficult task as a pensioner, but he still chose to shop for local produce. “I normally don’t shop at Coles or Woolworths. I’ll try to shop with IGA, at least they have some ties with the community,” he said. “When I go shopping I look for items that are Australian made or WA made with local ingredients.” Mr Hankin said although he always looked for Australian-made produce, these days it was a balancing act with international products being a more affordable alternative. “I try my best to grow as much as I can myself,” he said. With pay packets not keeping pace with inflation, the inevitability of more interest rate rises and the imminent end to the fuel excise cut making petrol more expensive, Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers warned it would take time to get on top of rampant inflation that is affecting “Australians in every corner of the country”. On Thursday, he revealed the inflation rate was expected to soar towards 8 per cent by the end of the year before dropping next year and in 2024.