Prices in Greek supermarkets were stable in April 2024, increasing by 1.10% compared to April 2023, a new survey by the Institute of Consumer Goods Retail Research (IELKA) has found.
Supermarket prices in Greece increased by 3% in January 2024, 2.70% in February, and 0.28% in March, according to the survey.
IELKA attributed the difference in price increases between April and March to the effect of seasonality due to Easter, which it described as a period of 'intense promotions'.
Price Difference By Category
Categories that witnessed the highest reduction in prices in April included infant and baby food (-4.57%); stationery, nappies and sanitary towels (-2.99%); detergents and cleaning products (-2.71%); butter and eggs (-2.34%) and dairy products (-1.93%).
The decline seen in the dairy products category was driven by the normalisation of the market following the pandemic and the reduction in producer prices on some products.
Products such as butter and eggs benefitted from Easter promotions, IELKA added.
Products that saw the highest increase in prices in this period, meanwhile, included water and soft drinks (+12.26%); biscuits, chocolates and confectionery (+7.80%); alcoholic beverages (+7.68%); ready meals (+5.14%); and nuts and snacks (+4.51%).
Most of the increases in these categories were driven by increased international raw material prices, especially sugar and cocoa, IELKA noted.
The 'grocery food' category, which includes olive oil, registered an increase of 4.29%. Fresh fruit and vegetable prices saw an increase of 2.09%.
Supermarket Prices
Prices in supermarkets were restrained due to various factors, including the de-escalation of raw material prices in international markets and the normalisation of the market, IELKA noted.
Private labels also had an impact on pricing, and the sales share of private label is growing in supermarket chains due to a wider product offering being made available, it added.
Read More: Top 10 Supermarket Retail Chains in Greece
