Filenews 29 October 2023 - by Eleftheria Paizanou
The high prices of most products have changed the habits of consumers, who, although they do not have at their disposal reliable and modern tools to compare prices, such as e-kalathi applications, applied by other countries, are looking to identify supermarkets with the lowest prices.
Now, as a recent survey by the Consumer Protection Service showed, consumers do not just visit one supermarket for their purchases, but switch to more, buying in parts of each, to save some money, as the family budget increases month by month, without increasing incomes.
At the same time, it seems that many consumers choose parallel import products (from a country other than the one that traditionally produces a product), mainly because their prices are lower. The parallel import of products concerns branded products produced in various countries and imported directly by the producer from businesses in Cyprus. That is, the non-involvement of suppliers in the import of these products results in sellers buying them at lower prices and final consumers also purchasing them at a lower cost.
In addition, there are consumers who limit their purchases to the bare necessities in order to reduce their expenses. At the same time, many are making smart or opportunistic purchases, i.e. choosing to shop for products that are on sale. Different every time. Increasingly, many are opting for the offers and discounts provided by retailers, while there has been a large increase in sales of "private label" products. Mainly products imported from the supermarket and sold under its brand.
People in the retail trade, speaking to "F", argue that it is not justified for the prices of some products in Cyprus to be so high, due to the large number of supermarkets that operate and the competition that should be developed. As we have been told, despite some competition and the increased supply of products, prices are rising instead of falling, perhaps due to the high operating costs of businesses, but also due to expensive imports.
They are informed by ads
Research conducted by the Consumer Protection Service of the Ministry of Commerce, on consumer habits and e-kalathi showed that most consumers are looking to identify the best options, on the basis of the lowest price, without marginalizing the quality factor. Preferred displayed in supermarkets located conveniently for consumers.
At the same time, the survey showed that consumers try to get some information about product prices before visiting supermarkets. Essentially, before going out shopping, they conduct elementary market research with the means at their disposal, such as brochures, advertisements, online stores, applications, etc.
Interesting findings
In detail, the findings of the survey were the following:
- Product prices are the main criterion for consumers to proceed with product purchases. Almost half of the respondents (49%) answered that the main criterion for buying products is price, followed by quality with 24%, value for money with 10%, offers with 8%, usual choice with 4%, product brand with 3% and packaging with 1%.
- The main criterion for choosing the supermarket is the location (42%), the prices of products 25% and the variety of products 15%.
- 83% of consumers visit more than one supermarket per month for their purchases. 40% of respondents said they visit two hypermarkets per month, 33% visit three hypermarkets, 17% one supermarket and 10% more than three.
- A large percentage of consumers (40%) say they always or most often research product prices before making purchases. 24% of respondents said they often do market research before shopping, 21% rarely check prices beforehand, 18% of consumers said they do not do market research and 16% noted that they always do research. 36% of respondents reported that they are always or most often informed about prices through brochures.
Parallel imports
Regarding parallel import products, 35% consider them to be a very good choice, comparing the value for money, 33% consider them cheaper compared to exclusive import products, 17% said they are of lower quality and 15% reported that they have the same or better quality compared to exclusive import products.
61% of respondents said they choose parallel import products because of cheaper prices, 20% because they have better quality and 12% because these products are their usual choice.
63% will use e-kalathi
In relation to e-kalathi, 54% of respondents answered that they know about the initiative of the Ministry of Commerce for the creation of the electronic application. Further, 67% said that e-kalathi will work to a large or large extent to the benefit of consumers. 30% said that if the initiative is implemented, they will always or often use the app and 33% that they will use it sometimes.
The debate on the e-kalathi bill will continue on Tuesday in the parliamentary Committee on Commerce. During the last debate, last month, the article-by-article examination of the bill began. The members of the committee discussed for an hour to clarify the definition of businesses that will have the obligation to post the prices of their products on e-kalathi.
In addition, there have been reactions from supermarkets for not including bakeries and kiosks in the bill, as these businesses sell some products included in the household basket.
The Department of Commerce argues that kiosks and bakeries were left out of the bill because they are not considered similar businesses to supermarkets and there will be no proper price comparison.
800 people participated in the survey
The survey of the Consumer Protection Service was conducted from 3 to 5 October 2023, with telephone interviews using a structured questionnaire, with a sample of 800 people. Participants were selected by random stratified sampling. The survey was carried out by research firm IMR on behalf of the Consumer Protection Service.
The objectives of this research were to capture general consumer behaviours and to investigate knowledge, attitudes and perceptions about parallel import products.
Also, the aim of the research is to investigate the knowledge, attitudes and perceptions about private label products, as well as to record the degree of knowledge of the e-kalathi initiative, as well as its effects on consumers.
