The scary lessons I learnt while shopping for groceries

In the past, death and taxes were life’s two certainties.

But Benjamin Franklin did not foresee what swiping your card at the till would feel like in the 21st century.

Today, inflation or “k*k en betaal” as they say, makes certainty a threesome of life’s miserables.

This story has its roots in grocery shopping, when in March last year a bottle of All Gold tomato sauce was less than R25 and a loaf of sliced bread priced at a maximum of R12.

Today, trolley for trolley, you have got to dig deep to afford a basket load. Forget the trolley. A year and a bit later, a 700ml All Gold Tomato Sauce costs around R31 and a loaf of sliced white bread hovers close to R15.

But before you read on about the high cost of living, here is an important note.

Bargain hunters to the rescue

On Facebook, there is a group called 1 Family Stockpile. Here, members of the group hunt for incredible specials, highlight accidental retailer pricing errors in the consumer’s favour and list daily bargains.

It is well worth joining the 344,000-odd members in finding the best deals available and buying a hell of a lot of it. You will save big bucks.

Shopping and comparing the price of groceries, and reading supermarket broadsheets for specials has become as commonplace as reading the news or watching Netflix.

In a combination of physical shopping and online price checking, The Citizen compared the cost of some basic foodstuffs, a luxury here and there and some toiletries. It was not fun, but it was an eye opener.

Stores visited were the Blackheath Superspar and the El Ridge Checkers in Boksburg with Pick ‘n Pay and Woolies checked online. Specials were not considered.

The Blackheath SuperSpar emerged as the most affordable of the large grocery store brands. Picture Hein Kaiser

Trolley comparisons – the good, the okay and the expensive

So, a small batch of basics at the Blackheath SuperSpar totalled R497.83.

It comprised 100 tagless teabags, a plain 100ml Colgate toothpaste, four house brand 2-ply toilet rolls, a bar of Lux soap, 1kg Snowflake, 2.5kg Selati white sugar, 200g Nescafe Classic, 1kg Iwisa maize meal, 1kg Tastic rice, 500g Rama, six large house brand eggs, 1 litre long life house brand full cream milk, a loaf of Albany sliced white bread, 1 tin of Koo baked beans, some loose tomatoes, a 2 litre original Coca-Cola, 750ml Sunfoil sunflower oil, 700ml All Gold tomato sauce and 320g extra lean beef mince (at R114.99 a kilo).

Minus mince and tomatoes, weight-dependent groceries, the Blackheath Spar basket would cost R453.37. The equivalent at Checkers was a staggering R39,96 more expensive on the Sixty60 app.

At Woolworths, with expensive carrier bags on sale, the balance of your online priced basket, with a 2kg Tastic rice as 1kg not available, a trolley load adds up to R525.52. So, even halving the price of rice lands a R507 bill at your door.

That is R53.95 pricier than Spar and R13.67 more expensive than Checkers.

Pick n Pay did not have 1 litre of oil available online, so a basket with a 2 litre works out to R 544.75. Divide the oil’s price in half, for the sake of argument, and it comes to R503.75. It looks like it is an in-between shop.

But Blackheath Spar wins hands down in the affordability stakes, with enough change left to handsomely tip the car guard.

By the way, on the Spar receipt, the amount of VAT we pay on basics is scary. R110.84 goes straight out of the consumer’s pocket to the government.

To be fair, this was not a scientific study but an anecdotal shopping experience for groceries. And some retailers are cheaper or more expensive with various items.

So, comparisons may be odious, but who knows except your back pocket.

But there are things that just do not make sense.

Chocolates and tomatoes

Like Checkers upping the price of Regal chocolates, similar to Quality Street, from R49 at the start of lockdown to R64 two weeks ago. That is a 35% price increase.

Sales probably plummeted though, as it is on special right now at two bags for a clipper (R100).

The price of tomatoes more than doubled last year, but the price has come down dramatically. Yet it seems consumers pay up to double the cost price at retail. Picture Hein Kaiser

Curiously too, the price of All Gold tomato sauce.

So yes, last year the price of tomatoes shot the lights out, but Google shows it has receded somewhat and at the time of writing this article, the Johannesburg Fresh Fruit and Veg market listed it at R10 per kilo, wholesale.

This is down from April levels of up to R19.52 a kilo, which works out 45% cheaper. But the price of All Gold tomato sauce did not move with the savings.

Interestingly, also at the time of writing this article, Blackheath Spar retailed tomatoes at R18.99 a kilo, Checkers at R19.99 and Pick n Pay at R21. 99 a kilo. These are markups of 90-100% plus.

I will plant my own in future, thanks, at the cost of R28 from Builders and harvest a few hundred Rands savings over time.

My cheese and tomato sandwich will just have to wait a few weeks.