I compared grocery receipts from 2022 to today — here's how much more a basket costs now

All of the retailers carry out extensive weekly research to compare prices and copy each other to make sure no competitor has the edge.

It was March 2022 when consumers started to notice the incremental rise in the cost of groceries in their shopping baskets. The term ‘cost-of-living crisis’ became common, and people started to watch prices in shops.

The very forward-thinking Irish Examiner team asked me to start tracking the cost of a sample shopping basket of staples in most Irish households at that time, and so began a monstrous spreadsheet that ruled my life for over a year. The spreadsheet tracked the increase in prices, and which main supermarket was the best value. Even though the tracking project ended a while back, I’ve retained all my files.

We chose a list of common items that families would buy weekly. We selected standard sizes as they were a decent yardstick for a weekly shop, although larger families would buy many multiples of some of the products on the list.

The basket contains only private label (own-brand) products because they stay consistently cheap over time.

Prices and special offers can vary wildly across big brand names, depending on the time of the year and deals negotiated with retail chains.

This week, I used my historic records to check in on progress over the past four years, and goodness, the price of a sample shopping basket has certainly changed dramatically.

Without using loyalty vouchers, the cheapest shop this week is undoubtedly SuperValu. Interestingly, the Musgraves-owned brand had historically higher grocery prices, but they have moderated in the past year or so. SuperValu has been on a drive to offer customers better value in-store, and it certainly shows.

As was the case last time I checked, each of the supermarkets operates something called price matching or mirroring. All of the retailers carry out extensive weekly research to compare prices and copy each other to make sure no competitor has the edge when it comes to the cost of staples.

You can see this where the cost of butter, milk, eggs, bread, biscuits, cheese, and pasta are virtually identical from store to store. Great news for consumers because they can guarantee value no matter which supermarket they buy their basics from.

In most cases, the price of a standard pack of digestive biscuits has more than doubled, from about 35c in March 2022 to 79c, but stabilised across all the retailers.

The biggest price rise has been the price of beef mince, which has risen from prices as low as €2.69 for 454g (1lb) to at least €4.39. That’s a rise of over 63% in the cost of beef in the space of four years.

Surprisingly, the cost of pasta has remained static, particularly as the price of wheat used to make pasta was under pressure in the early days of the Ukraine conflict. It has settled at about 59c for 500g, making this dried store cupboard staple one of the most affordable carbohydrate sources you can buy.

Caitríona compared prices for several common items at four stores in March 2022 and May 2026. 

The bigger picture is the impact of loyalty bonuses and vouchers.

Aldi has no loyalty card or discount membership system at all, saying it prefers to offer the lowest price it can to its customers, but I think it’s fair to say it is not always the cheapest retailer for some groceries. The fact Aldi is on TooGoodToGo does go some way towards making up for this, though.

Dunnes Stores offers €5 off €25 and €10 off €50 grocery spend vouchers. These are awarded after the weekly shop and have become a big draw for loyal customers.

SuperValu operates a money-off voucher scheme with a much lower opt-in of €5 off €35.

It can pay to split your shop. This may be attractive to single households or could be beneficial if consumers split their shopping across several retailers to gain the best benefit for their budget.

For example, on a tight budget of €80 per week, split between €45 in Dunnes and €35 SuperValu, a
consumer could buy €90 worth of groceries.Or if they spent €90 in Dunnes, the consumer would only pay €80, using the €10 off €50 voucher.

It’s impossible to measure the impact of personalised vouchers in Tesco, and Clubcard prices rarely apply to these weekly shopping staples.

However, there are savings to be made on its three-for-€10 meat offers, and I find Tesco has a wider range of baked goods than many other supermarkets near me. It’s also handy to track the contents of your shopping trolley, and its cost, using the scan-and-go gun. That can be invaluable when you’re on a tight grocery budget.

You may have noticed Lidl didn’t feature in this price tracking experiment. That’s because Lidl prices are not available online. There are discounts of up to 33% to be had using the Lidl Plus app, but these change so rapidly, for example, this week 500g of beef mince is €4.99 using the Lidl plus app.

My main message to you today is to shop around for better grocery value. Being loyal to a single supermarket may no longer pay off. Be loyal to your bank account instead.

REDMOND RECOMMENDS

Here are my tips for getting the most from your grocery shop:

• Plan what you want to eat in the days ahead;
• Write up a menu or meal plan listing the ingredients you need;
• Check what you have before making a shopping list;
• Be flexible with your meal plan so you can take advantage of special offers;
• Research your local supermarkets online for the best prices;
• Eat and drink before tackling the aisles;
• Don’t forget your shopping bags;
• Stow away all the food as soon as you get home;
• Stick to the plan and the budget;
• Remember, €30 on weekly take-aways is €1,560 a year you could spend somewhere else;
• Take control; the money is better in your pocket.