Friday, November 10, 2017
As promised a little over two months ago, here is our regular price check in Icelandic convenient stores and supermarkets. We are quite shocked about how many products have gone up in price during the last two months.
As in our previous price check, we visited 11 supermarkets and convenient stores in the capital area and price checked 11 products which are stables in any kitchen. The products we checked are also good to bring on the road when traveling.
The price check execution
We visited 11 supermarkets and convenient stores in the capital area and checked the shelf price of 11 different products. We did not buy any products and solely checked the shelf price of each product. The products that we checked were not on offer in any store. If that would’ve been the case, we of course would have taken that into account.
The only change between this price check and our last one is that we did not visit Samkaup Strax at Hófgerði in Kópavogur since that has closed. Instead we visited Samkaup Strax in Stigahlíð in Reykjavík.
We chose products that are likely to be sold in most stores and that will be sold for many months to come, so we can price check them again every two months or so. We performed the price check on Tuesday November 7th and Wednesday November 8th 2017. During the price check we visited the following Icelandic supermarkets:
- Kostur, Dalvegur 10, Kópavogur
- Nóatún, Háaleitisbraut 68, Reykjavík
- Fjarðarkaup, Hólshraun 1b, Hafnarfjörður
- Krónan, Flatahraun 13, Hafnarfjörður
- Bónus, Holtagarðar, Reykjavík
- Samkaup Strax, Stigahlíð 45-47, Kópavogur
- Nettó, Mjódd, Reykjavík
- Víðir, Skeifan 11d, Reykjavík
- 10-11, Lágmúli 7, Reykjavík
- Iceland, Engihjalli 8, Kópavogur
- Hagkaup, Skeifan 15, Reykjavík
The price check products
We of course price checked the same products as in our previous price check. Those products were:
- MS Butter 400g
- KEA Vanilla Skyr 200g
- MS Whole Milk 1L
- Oreo Original 154g
- Bananas
- Can of Pepsi 0,5L
- 10 SS Hot Dogs
- Knorr Cup a Soup Thai Curry Chicken 3 pack
- Lífskorn Bread from Myllan 450g
- Bag of Þristur Candy 250g
- Cheerios Cereal 340g
So, let’s get to the good part – the results! Below you will see a table with all prices, and a summary of our findings.
Kostur and Bónus the cheapest
As in our previous check, 10-11 reigns supreme when it comes to high prices. They have the highest price in 9 categories, tying in 1 with Samkaup Strax. In addition to that, Samkaup has the highest price in 2 other categories. This is a bit of a change since our last check, when 10-11 had the highest price in 10 out of 11 categories.
We also see a change in the lower price ranges with Kostur and Bónus tying in first place, having the most products with the cheapest price, or 4 in total. In our last price check it was Bónus that had the most of the lowest priced products with Kostur in second place. Now, Víðir has 2 of the lowest priced products and Iceland and Fjarðarkaup each have 1.
40% price raise of butter
If we start our run down with the Icelandic butter, Smjör, both Samkaup and Nettó have raised the price of their 400g box. Samkaup takes the cake with a 40% raise of price of butter, going from 501 ISK to 757 ISK. The price of butter at Nettó was 379 ISK in our last price check, but is now 383 ISK. That’s a price raise of a little over 1%. The most expensive butter is in fact at Samkaup, with the cheapest one being found at Víðir for 338 ISK. That’s a whopping 76,5% price difference.
We also price checked vanilla flavored Skyr and found that Nettó had also raised the price of that from 189 ISK to 199 ISK, or 5,15%. However, Skyr price had dropped at Krónan by 2 ISK and at Iceland by 15 ISK. The best bargain for Skyr is at Kostur, with a 200g box costing 178 ISK. The most expensive one is at 10-11, costing 279 ISK. The price difference between the highest and lowest price is 44%.
The price of milk has also gone up in some stores. It was 145 ISK at Nettó for 1 liter of whole milk, but is now 148 ISK. Víðir also raised the price of their milk, from 149 to 159 ISK. Kostur however lowered their milk prices significantly, or from 142 ISK in our previous price check, down to 115 ISK. That’s a 21% price cut. So, Kostur takes the cake when it comes to the cheapest liter of milk. The most expensive one is found at 10-11, costing 269 ISK. That’s almost 62% price difference on a liter of milk!
Bananas go up a whopping 70%
Which brings us to Oreo original biscuits, which are not found in every store in the quantity we price checked. The only store that has changed the price of Oreos is Hagkaup, raising the price from 159 ISK to 169 ISK, or 6%. The cheapest 154g pack of Oreo can be found at Bónus for 139 ISK, with 10-11 and Samkaup tying in the race for the most expensive Oreos with 249 ISK. The difference: 57%.
Bananas are found in every store and are a great food item to take with you on the road. Good source of energy and can fill your tummy up on long hikes. Krónan has raised the price of a kilo of bananas from 199 ISK to 219 ISK. Kostur has also raised their banana prices from 198 ISK to 209 ISK. Bónus jumps on the price raising train, with the price of a kilo of bananas going from 198 ISK to 215 ISK. The most shocking price raise of bananas is undoubtably at Víðir, where prices go from 189 ISK on our previous price check to 389 ISK per kilo. That’s almost a 70% price raise. Nóatún however lowers the price of bananas by 19%, from 399 ISK to 329 ISK. The most expensive banans are at Samkaup, or 425 ISK per kilo. The cheapest ones are at Kostur, 209 ISK per kilo. The price difference between the cheapest and the most costly is therefore 68%.
One store lowers the price of hot dogs
A 0,5 liter can of Pepsi is not found in all of the stores we price checked in. The price at Hagkaup goes up 41%, from 98 ISK to 149 ISK. The price at Fjarðarkaup also goes up. It was 88 ISK but is now 128 ISK, with the price raise percentage being 37%. The cheapest can of Pepsi can be found at Iceland, costing 99 ISK. The most expensive one is at 10-11, going for 349 ISK. That’s a price difference of 111,6%.
Hot dogs are Iceland’s national dish, being extremely popular with locals and foreigners alike. One store raises the price of a 10 pack of SS hot dogs, which is Kostur. The price goes from 749 ISK to 775 ISK. Víðir lowers their price from 798 ISK to 748 ISK, holding the title for the cheapest hot dogs. The most expensive hot dogs are found at 10-11, costing 1129 ISK. The price difference is therefore almost 41%.
Knorr Cup a Soup is a good option for travel meals. Bónus lowers the price of their 3 pack of cup soup by 2 ISK, going from 239 ISK to 237 ISK. 10-11 raises the price from 469 ISK to 499 ISK. These are in fact the lowest and highest prices of Knorr cup a soup, with the price difference being 71%.
5 stores raise the price of bread
The next item we checked was a 450g bag of Lífskorn bread. Multiple stores have raised the price of that particular bread. At Nettó the price goes from 359 ISK to 372 ISK, at Iceland is goes from 469 ISK to 479 ISK and at Bónus the price goes from 357 ISK to 365 ISK. Hagkaup raises the price from 405 ISK to 439 ISK with 10-11’s prices going from 599 ISK to 649 ISK. The most expensive Lífskorn is in fact at 10-11, with Bónus and Kostur tying for the cheapest one at 365 ISK. That’s a 56% price difference.
Þristur is a beloved, Icelandic candy and therefore it takes part in our price check. Nóatún has actually lowered the price of Þristur since our last check, with a 250g bag now costing 429 ISK, but was 449 ISK. Nettó raises their price by 10 ISK, from 349 ISK to 359 ISK and Hagkaup raises the price from 369 ISK to 399 ISK. You will find the cheapest bag of Þristur at Bónus for 329 ISK and the most expensive one at 10-11 for 799 ISK. That’s a 83% price difference on a bag of candy.
And lastly we have a 340g box of Cheerios cereal, not found at every store. Nettó is the only store which has changed the price of the cereal, raising it from 450 ISK to 459 ISK. The cheapest box is at Fjarðarkaup for 398 ISK and the most costly one at 10-11, costing 749%. The price difference between the highest and lowest price is 61%.
Most price raises at Nettó
The store with the most changes in price since our last check is Nettó, with 6 price raises. In second place is Hagkaup, with 4 price raises. The least changes occur at Samkaup and Fjarðarkaup, with 1 price raise each. Nóatún lowers their price in 2 categories with Krónan, Iceland, Kostur and Víðir all lowering the price of 1 item.
Like in our previous price check, the most price difference between the lowest and highest price is for a can of Pepsi. It’s now 111,6% but was nearly 120% last time we checked. The least price difference is for hot dogs, only 41%. The most shocking price raise in this price check is the price of bananas, with prices going up nearly 70% at Víðir. We were also quite shocked by the 40% price raise of a box of butter at Samkaup.
So, that’s it for our latest price check. Our next one will be executed in the new year but until then, stay tuned for more awesome blogs at Must See.
