Cheapest food in the Channel Islands still costs 60% more than the UK

Friday 31 January 2014

Islanders on the tightest budgets are losing out because of the lack of very cheap supermarkets says the competition watchdog.

The Channel Islands Competition and Regulatory Authorities compared prices in Guernsey, Jersey and the UK for a study out today. Overall the regulator found that Islanders were not paying much more for the same products in the same brand of supermarket than consumers in the UK. Comparing the cost of the best-selling 500-1,000 products at individual retailers, the price difference is likely to be less than 10%. But the study showed that it’s much more expensive to shop for basic goods in the Channel Islands.

When comparing a "real life" basics basket Jersey consumers were paying an average of £13 (32%) more per shop while Guernsey consumers were paying an average of £14 (36%) more. If taxes and duties were stripped away, the cheapest price for the basket was around 50% higher in Jersey and 60% higher in Guernsey.

The Cicra study surmised that much of the price difference was because the Channel Islands doesn’t have a number of the cheaper UK supermarkets.

Cicra chief executive Andrew Riseley said: “The main implication of these price comparisons is that, while supermarkets with a presence in Jersey and Guernsey and the UK appear not to charge substantially higher prices overall, for the same product ranges offered, those consumers on the tightest budgets in the Channel Islands (or who would choose to shop for lower priced goods if they were available) are disadvantaged through the absence of cheaper supermarkets.

“The entry of a new supermarket that typically offers lower prices, or a lower priced range of products, would be likely to be of benefit to consumers in both islands but particularly Jersey which has less supermarket brands than Guernsey.

The regulator met with grocery retailers and 1,240 people across both Islands responded to its consumer survey. They were asked how often they shopped, which stores they used and the determining factors on where and how they shopped. The survey revealed that a third of consumers do not find offers in supermarkets easy to understand.

Mr Riseley said: “It is often difficult to identify the cheapest option and compare across products particularly when some products are on multi-buy promotions. Misleading or unclear display of prices, however, may lead to consumers making the wrong decision and spending more than they need to – to the benefit of retailers.”

Cicra say it has discussed pricing displays with the supermarkets in Jersey and Guernsey, the Jersey Consumer Council and Trading Standards in Jersey. All indicated that they, in principle, would be willing to support a voluntary code of conduct on grocery pricing practices to ensure that consumers were able to make accurate and informed purchasing decisions.

The regulator carried out the study after a request from the Economic Development Department in Jersey.