Reacting to food price jumps: – It’s absolutely sick

On 1 February, prices will be increased further in Norwegian stores, and several players have announced a price jump of around ten percent.

This comes on top of an already extraordinary price increase.

In the grocery stores, several of the customers are aware of the increased food prices that will come on Wednesday.

At Kiwi Hovinveien in Oslo, some of the customers take a few more items with them than originally planned.

Trine Mathiasen is one of the customers who visited the Kiwi store on Tuesday afternoon.

– You have quite a full cart in front of you, don’t you?

– It’s partly because we’re missing a lot at home right now, so we found out that it’s better to shop today than tomorrow. It’s not like we’re hoarding an unnecessary amount, she says to Dagbladet’s reporter on the spot.

In addition to the food she needed, Mathiasen has brought rice, pasta and other dry goods.

– Things we didn’t really need, she says.

– What do you think about prices going up?

– It’s crazy, and it’s noticeable that the prices have already gone up. So it’s crazy that they have to go up even more, she says.

– Insane

The sisters Grete Gundersen and Hanne Askautrud are also in full swing with the action.

They don’t buy anything other than food except for tonight’s dinner and food that they otherwise lack.

Clear message: Don’t do it

Both thought that food prices are getting really high.

– I think it is absolutely sick, it is expensive enough in Norway. I feel sorry for the young people who have other expenses, housing expenses, children and other things, says Gundersen to Dagbladet.

Askautrud has also noticed that certain goods have gone up in price a lot.

– Coffee has gone up a lot, it’s absolutely crazy. Yesterday I bought a chicken at Meny. It cost NOK 86, she says.

– It’s no fun anymore, adds Gundersen.

– Become more price conscious

Several of the grocery chains inform Dagbladet that they notice that customers shop more before the price increase.

In the last week alone, Coop Extra has seen almost eleven percent growth in the number of customers, and an increase in turnover of 7.7 percent, Harald Kristiansen, communications manager at Coop Norge, told Dagbladet.

– In Extra, we see that several of the customers, who are also our owners, have become more price conscious and choose more affordable alternatives. Among other things, we have had an increase in sales of the Xtra series, which is our cheapest option, he says to Dagbladet.

Turn around

The stores of the Norgesgruppen, including Kiwi and Spar, state that they have noticed a change in people’s shopping patterns, says communications manager Kine Søyland.

– People are more aware and plan better when shopping. Customers are also more offer-oriented – especially at the supermarkets, she says.

Also, communications manager at Reitan Retail, Øyvind Breivik, the company which, among other things, is behind Rema 1000, tells Dagbladet that they have seen a somewhat increased shopping volume in recent days.