Author Topic: Supermarket price comparisons  (Read 6824 times)

Fawkes85

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Supermarket price comparisons
« on: February 01, 2017, 10:30:26 pm »
Can anyone recommend a website where you can search for products and have the different prices listed next to each other for all the different supermarkets? I have googled it and I have not been able to find such a website. I have tried pricecheck.co.za but they just list the cheapest prices. That does not really help. I do not want to drive to 4 different places to buy my groceries. I want to know which supermarket will be the cheapest in general when I buy my groceries and just go to that one. Comparemysupermarket.co.za does not have prices for Spar, Checkers or Shoprite which is kind of stupid. They only have prices for PicknPay, Dischem(?), Makro and Woolworths. They also do not list the prices side-by-side. You have to check each store individually. Retailpricewatch.co.za is the best of the lot but they still do not list the prices side-by-side. You have to click on each product individually to see which store's prices they are showing. They also only seem to have prices for PicknPay and Checkers. No Spar or Shoprite.

The rest of the Google links were just for some report on price wars going on.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

gcr

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Re: Supermarket price comparisons
« Reply #1 on: February 02, 2017, 09:59:55 am »
Maybe Google Wendy Knowler and then write to her to see what she could suggest as whether there is a comprehensive listing across all supermarkets.
She used to run the consumer column in the Sunday Slimes but has stopped this column - most annoying
Not everything that counts, can be counted, and, not everything that can be counted counts - Albert Einstein

Mr_Dividend

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Re: Supermarket price comparisons
« Reply #2 on: February 02, 2017, 11:56:08 am »
My 2c - no one shop is cheapest on everything. Also, some small 7-11 type shops can have good prices, esp if the supplier is to small to supply the large stores. I always buy milk (R7L and cheese) in one.

Never get to a stage where you NEED to buy something, always have a backup and when you open that, start looking for a special - for non perishables obviously - and freezer items.


Bread

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Re: Supermarket price comparisons
« Reply #3 on: February 02, 2017, 07:07:23 pm »
Good question. And I hope you find the answer. In the meantime I'm on a mission to prove to my wife that shopping at Clicks is more expensive than Spar or Shoprite or the chemist in the next suburb that doesn't have a Clicks. I think Clicks push their prices up to compensate for their cashback program. Watch this space.

Fawkes85

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Re: Supermarket price comparisons
« Reply #4 on: February 02, 2017, 07:28:27 pm »
My 2c - no one shop is cheapest on everything. Also, some small 7-11 type shops can have good prices, esp if the supplier is to small to supply the large stores. I always buy milk (R7L and cheese) in one.

Never get to a stage where you NEED to buy something, always have a backup and when you open that, start looking for a special - for non perishables obviously - and freezer items.

I understand that no one shop is cheaper on everything. That is why I am looking for one that will be the cheapest in general for the specific basket of groceries I want to buy at that specific time. So want a website where I can just search for the products I want, have them added to a virtual shopping basket, and then have the website tell me which shop will be the cheapest for that set of groceries. That is a big ask, though. Thus I will settle for one where I choose the product, it lists the prices of all the supermarkets for that product side by side, and then I can just keep a notepad at my side and write down the prices for each product, from each supermarket, and add then up myself.

gcr

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Re: Supermarket price comparisons
« Reply #5 on: February 02, 2017, 10:48:17 pm »
My 2c - no one shop is cheapest on everything. Also, some small 7-11 type shops can have good prices, esp if the supplier is to small to supply the large stores. I always buy milk (R7L and cheese) in one.

Never get to a stage where you NEED to buy something, always have a backup and when you open that, start looking for a special - for non perishables obviously - and freezer items.

I understand that no one shop is cheaper on everything. That is why I am looking for one that will be the cheapest in general for the specific basket of groceries I want to buy at that specific time. So want a website where I can just search for the products I want, have them added to a virtual shopping basket, and then have the website tell me which shop will be the cheapest for that set of groceries. That is a big ask, though. Thus I will settle for one where I choose the product, it lists the prices of all the supermarkets for that product side by side, and then I can just keep a notepad at my side and write down the prices for each product, from each supermarket, and add then up myself.
You could also just create a spreadsheet with your local area supermarket names as the header and then list the products you generally buy on the x axis and merely place a "1" per the supermarket with the cheapest price. Once you have populated the spreadsheet all you do is sum the columns and the supermarket which has the greatest value is the supermarket that you go to, to buy your goodies
Not everything that counts, can be counted, and, not everything that can be counted counts - Albert Einstein

Fawkes85

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Re: Supermarket price comparisons
« Reply #6 on: February 02, 2017, 11:16:21 pm »
My 2c - no one shop is cheapest on everything. Also, some small 7-11 type shops can have good prices, esp if the supplier is to small to supply the large stores. I always buy milk (R7L and cheese) in one.

Never get to a stage where you NEED to buy something, always have a backup and when you open that, start looking for a special - for non perishables obviously - and freezer items.

I understand that no one shop is cheaper on everything. That is why I am looking for one that will be the cheapest in general for the specific basket of groceries I want to buy at that specific time. So want a website where I can just search for the products I want, have them added to a virtual shopping basket, and then have the website tell me which shop will be the cheapest for that set of groceries. That is a big ask, though. Thus I will settle for one where I choose the product, it lists the prices of all the supermarkets for that product side by side, and then I can just keep a notepad at my side and write down the prices for each product, from each supermarket, and add then up myself.
You could also just create a spreadsheet with your local area supermarket names as the header and then list the products you generally buy on the x axis and merely place a "1" per the supermarket with the cheapest price. Once you have populated the spreadsheet all you do is sum the columns and the supermarket which has the greatest value is the supermarket that you go to, to buy your goodies

That is not a bad idea. The only problem is that the prices change all the time. So one week one place may be cheaper, and the next the other. Thus I will still need a price comparison website that will show me which one will be cheapest at that time.

Bread

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Re: Supermarket price comparisons
« Reply #7 on: February 03, 2017, 10:37:00 am »
1st discovery - my Discovery medical aid premium went up by a whopping 19%
2nd discovery - using my Clicks card at NuMetro to pay for a ticket actually costs R5 more on a Wednesday  :wall:

gcr

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Re: Supermarket price comparisons
« Reply #8 on: February 03, 2017, 11:25:06 am »
1st discovery - my Discovery medical aid premium went up by a whopping 19%
2nd discovery - using my Clicks card at NuMetro to pay for a ticket actually costs R5 more on a Wednesday  :wall:
Well I wouldn't complain I have GAP insurance over and above my medical aid premiums. The GAP Insurance is run by PSG and they have just ramped up the premium from R 155 to R 210 per month so that's about 35% increase
Not everything that counts, can be counted, and, not everything that can be counted counts - Albert Einstein

Bread

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Re: Supermarket price comparisons
« Reply #9 on: February 03, 2017, 06:09:32 pm »
I don't have gap even though I've been meaning to get it for the last few years. But lately I've been thinking that I don't really need it because all the ops and things my wife and I have been in hospital for have been covered by my hospital plan and all the doctors and surgeons and anaesthetists are contracted in and I make sure of that in advance. The only risk in NOT having it is if we're in a car accident and I'm not in a position to ensure them who are treating me or my wife are contracted in.

Snakepit

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Re: Supermarket price comparisons
« Reply #10 on: March 05, 2017, 07:41:05 am »
I have been toying with this idea for years. Having a website where I list my grocery list and then with one click it tells me where I can find the products the cheapest today. I have also noticed for a long time that even if the shop belongs to the same group of companies, they do not ask the same price per item as it depends on the demographics of the area. A Checkers in one area will have a different price than a Checkers in a "richer" area. Did you notice that?

My problems:

1. I can't program a website, but I'm sure that can be overcome.
2. How to get the pricing updated daily. Now if the shops co-operated that can be done every morning as they have the pricing in electronic file and that can be uploaded daily, but will they do it? Well if the site works the way it should, it will as they will want you to buy from them. PnP has this pricecheck where they compare prices and show you how much you save on your till slip.

Then I came up with a better idea. Almost something like uber. Get the people that shop to update the pricing via cellphone. They choose the store from a list, choose the product and put in the price.

So if any one want's to take this forward, contact me. Lets give these buggers a kick under the butt!