A supermarket customer’s post showing off his fortnightly big shop at Iceland for nearly £120 has sparked a huge online debate amid the cost-of-living crisis.
Some responded to the picture on Reddit’s ‘whatsinyourcart’ page with concern over the shopper’s love of processed food, but the bill was the talking point for others.
Several raised eyebrows at the £119.73 total price for the haul which included a large number of frozen products such as Greggs sausage rolls, steak bakes and burgers.
Sausages, lasagna and fish pie were also included in the shop along with long-life milk, Walker’s crisps, Jaffa Cakes, strawberry yogurts, bananas and apples.
The photo provoked a major debate on Reddit at a time when annual supermarket grocery price inflation stands at just under 5 per cent for recent months.
One said: ‘When did Iceland get so expensive? I do a weekly shop for four people and a dog for this amount and we eat really well – fresh meat, fruit, veg, alcohol, treats, even toiletries and cleaning products are included. I can’t believe this costs so much.’
Another wrote: ‘Basically everything has gone up like 50 per cent over the last two to three years.’ A third said: ‘Learn to actually cook more and you will save, trust me.’
A further post read: ‘You know you could make lasagnas from scratch for way cheaper? And freeze them? And they would taste one billion times better? Ready meals are a total scam from any supermarket.’
| ITEM | QUANTITY | PRICE PER UNIT | TOTAL PRICE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warburtons 6 Sliced Soft White Rolls | 2 | £1.40 | £2.80 |
| Schweppes Lemonade 2L | 1 | £1.50 | £1.50 |
| Viva Semi-Skimmed Long-Life Milk 1L | 12 | £1.20 | £14.40 |
| Viva Whole Long-Life Milk 1L | 12 | £1.20 | £14.40 |
| Walkers Classic Variety Multipack Crisps 12x25g | 1 | £3 | £3 |
| McVitie’s Jaffa Cakes Original Twin Pack (18 cakes) | 1 | £2.50 | £2.50 |
| Fox’s Rocky Caramel Bars 5 pack | 2 | £1 | £2 |
| Fyffes Premium Bananas 5 pack | 1 | £1 | £1 |
| Iceland Royal Gala Apples 6 pack | 1 | £1.79 | £1.79 |
| Iceland British Semi-Skimmed Milk 2L | 4 | £1.65 | £6.60 |
| Cheesy Singles 170g 10 slices | 2 | £1 | £2 |
| Müller Light Greek Style Strawberry Yogurt 4x115g | 1 | £2.29 | £2.29 |
| Clover Spread 500g | 1 | £2.60 | £2.60 |
| Iceland Luxury Ultimate Aberdeen Angus Quarter Pounders 4 pack | 3 | £5 | £15 |
| Greggs Steak Bakes 2 pack | 4 | £3.50 | £14 |
| Greggs Sausage Rolls 8 pack | 1 | £4.75 | £4.75 |
| Iceland Beef Lasagne 400g | 4 | £2.50 | £10 |
| Iceland Haddock and Salmon Fish Pie 400g | 2 | £2.50 | £5 |
| Iceland Cottage Pie 400g | 6 | £1 | £6 |
| Richmond Thick Pork Sausages 24 pack | 1 | £3.50 | £3.50 |
| Bags, Picking & Packing | 1 | £1.60 | £1.60 |
| Delivery | 1 | £1 | £1 |
| GRAND TOTAL | £117.73 | ||
| N.B. Total calculated from prices on Iceland website today. Total for shopper on Reddit was £2 higher at £119.73 | |||
On Wednesday, the Office for National Statistics revealed the rate of Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation fell to 3.2 per cent in November, from 3.6 per cent in October.
The ONS said the biggest factor driving inflation down last month was lower food prices for bread, cereals and cakes, butter, cheese and pasta.
Alcoholic drinks including beer and wine also decreased, but food prices are still higher than they were last year, with the annual inflation rate coming in at 4.2 per cent in November – albeit lower than the 4.9 per cent October rate.
The price of some food and drinks has spiked over the past year, with annual rises including beef up 27.7 per cent, chocolate rising by 17.3 per cent and coffee up 14.5 per cent.
Sarah Coles, head of personal finance for Hargreaves Lansdown, said this means that people’s ‘experiences at the supermarket will still depend enormously on what you buy’.
Separate data from market research firm Worldpanel by Numerator released on December 9 found overall grocery price inflation held steady at 4.7 per cent over the month to November 30.
This was helped by retailers ramping up promotions in the competition for Christmas shoppers. Some 31.2 per cent of spending was on promoted items, up from 30 per cent the same time last year.
This week, the Christmas supermarket wars took an unprecedented turn as three of the biggest retailers cut their vegetable prices to just 5p and brought in rationing.
Morrisons said yesterday that it would cut the prices of British carrots (1kg), parsnips (500g), Brussels sprouts (500g) and whole swedes to 5p for More Card customers.
This forced Lidl and Aldi, who had both previously revealed vegetables would be on sale for 8p, to also cut their prices to 5p to ensure they match Morrisons.
Aldi will be limiting each vegetable to four per customer, while Morrisons is limiting shoppers to eight items across its full 5p range. Lidl has not announced rationing.
Tesco and Sainsbury’s are in the battle too, having already unveiled prices of 15p for vegetables for those in the Clubcard and Nectar loyalty schemes respectively.
The Daily Mail has contacted Iceland for comment.
