I've noticed that for the past few months, prices keep going up constantly, even on budget brands. I do my shopping at the Carrefour in my town and honestly it's gotten hard to make ends meet. Is it like this everywhere or is it just where I am? Does anyone have tips for getting by?
There's something nobody really talks about - Carrefour and the other chains play a lot with the references they discontinue and replace - you end up buying a "new" product that costs 30% more while the old one just vanishes from the shelves! Then yeah, inflation's a factor, but they're totally taking advantage of the chaos to bump up their margins. The price-per-kilo thing is true, but at some point you look at your shopping and you see that even the basic products where you don't have a choice have gone up insanely without anything actually changing in the product itself.
It's the same everywhere honestly, I noticed the same thing even on basics, it's gone crazy. Inflation hit hard and supermarkets are passing it straight through to the shelves, especially since 2024-2025. To get by I check the promos online before I go, I compare store brand prices even between Carrefour and Leclerc when there's one near me, and honestly end of month is tight for a lot of people right now.
Not sure it's really "crazy" everywhere in the same way - it depends a lot on which sections and brands you're looking at 🛒 The thing people often mess up is just comparing the prices shown without checking the weight or quantity, supermarkets play a lot with that by changing formats so it looks cheaper at first glance when it's actually the opposite. Try to really check the price per kilo before buying, and compare it with lesser-known store brands - there are often massive differences just because nobody notices them.
The thing people often forget is to check the price per kilo or per liter instead of just looking at the basic label, because budget brands sometimes make smaller packages without actually lowering the price. Also you gotta verify if your Carrefour has genuinely good deals or if they're just marketing BS, and it varies quite a bit from one store to another depending on the area. A dumb trick but it actually works: stuff at the end of the aisle or on the back walls tends to change prices downward more often, so it's worth digging around there instead of sticking to the front displays.
Don't just blame the store brand itself - the price increases are mostly coming from upstream, with producers and distributors passing costs along everywhere, and Carrefour isn't exempt from that. What can really help you is comparing unit prices instead of just looking at the sticker price, because packaging sizes are shrinking while prices go up, so you think you're paying the same when actually it's gotten more expensive per kilo!
When I go shopping, I noticed that smaller sizes cost way more per kilo than the bigger packs, and it's gotten really bad recently. So I started systematically comparing the price per kilo or per liter instead of just looking at the shelf price, and it's crazy how much that changes things. With stuff you buy regularly, it's totally worth hunting for those numbers at the bottom of the label, because that's where the real differences between budget brands and the others are hiding.
What really helps is switching to generic store brands, not just the budget line - like stuff without fancy packaging that costs half as much and is often made in the same factories! Otherwise you really gotta compare the price per kilo/liter because the packaging shrinks without you noticing while you're paying basically the same. And honestly coupon apps actually work, you get decent discounts if you use them regularly.
I think it's less "gone crazy" than before - like if you compare it to 2022/2023, things have calmed down a bit on certain stuff. But yeah, you're right that it still feels heavy, especially on basics and budget items. It's just that brands are reluctant to lower prices even when their costs go down, so we're stuck at high levels.
For tips that actually work, the thing is don't just rely on the base price - check the price per kilo or per liter, that's your friend. Small budget packaging is often a trap, you end up paying more. Then store brands vary hugely from one chain to another, so if you've got another shop nearby, it's worth comparing just on the stuff you buy regularly. And promos, even if they're less generous than before, there are still some around - you just gotta check before you go shopping.
What you really need to do is compare prices per unit of measurement (per kilo, per liter) rather than just the displayed price, because budget brands often shrink the product size without lowering the price - so you end up paying pretty much the same for less stuff 📦 Other retailers do exactly the same thing, it's not specific to Carrefour, but where you can actually save is on promotions that change every week - you gotta check their app or the ads they send, otherwise you're buying at full price without even realizing it. Other than that yeah, inflation plays a role, but honestly a big part of it is just that we don't compare things properly.
If you really want to get your head above water, check out the store brands from other chains when you pass by them - Leclerc or Auchan often have basics cheaper than Carrefour's budget line, even if it's out of your way. And yeah, other people are right about the price per kilo, but what we forget is that deals like "2 for €3" or stuff like that are often traps: actually calculate the unit price, because you end up buying twice as much just for the feeling of saving money.
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