One simple trick to save on groceries

An Australian supermarket boss has revealed the top ways shoppers can save on groceries as thousands of prices are slashed in a major effort to ease cost of living pressures.

IGA supermarkets dropped the prices on 860 products on Tuesday as part of their Low Prices Every Day initiative that will lock in the low prices of more than 3000 products for three months.

The special prices are targeted towards winter essentials, including Maggi two-minute noodles, SunRice and Panadol Rapid caplets.

“It’s all about making sure that people can shop in their local IGA and enjoy all the benefits of a local business that knows them but knows that value is very important at the moment,” IGA chief executive Grant Ramage said.

It’s the largest semipermanent price drop the Aussie supermarket has ever introduced to help ease cost of living pressures.

The price drop will be locked in across the country for three months so shoppers can be assured they will get the same low price every week.

What are shoppers putting in their basket?

Across the board, Australians are feeling the pressure on their weekly budget, as energy, fuel and housing costs continue to soar.

It’s no surprise that this is impacting what shoppers are putting in their baskets and the overwhelming trend is that people are looking for value for money.

“As you‘d expect, people are looking for value because times are tougher,” Mr Ramage said.

“The products in store with tickets on them are being shopped even more frequently, and people are putting more of those items in their basket.”

He said consumers were eating out less and instead looking for great quality products that they could cook at home.

“They’re really focused on getting that value offering and using the specials that are on offer in stores to be able to make ends meet,” Mr Ramage said.

How to make the most of in-store savings

1. Shop the winter price drop

The price of more than 3000 products will be dropped over 13 weeks this winter and IGA is encouraging shoppers to make the most of what is their biggest price drop yet.

“You shouldn’t have to worry about what day of the week it is, you can get value all of the time,” Mr Ramage said.

While the latest price drop is focused on winter favourites, Mr Ramage said shoppers could also save on everyday necessities.

“They are really widespread through the whole store so people can see value in every aisle,” he said.

“And, you know, it’s all the basic things that people buy all the time. It’s butter, it’s bread, it’s cheese, it’s nappies, it’s toilet rolls, all the things that people have to buy.”

The IGA boss teased that as winter drew to a close, a spring-focused catalogue could be added to the price-drop program.

2. Look out for the blue tickets

Customers can also make the most of the price match program that ensures they won’t pay any more than shoppers at the supermarket giants.

Prices on up to 1200 in-store items will automatically be matched to the lowest regular shelf price of Coles and Woolworths.

“We have a range of the most important products in the supermarket that we check every day and price match to the two big chains,” Mr Ramage said.

Customers can walk into any IGA store and will automatically see the prices matched to the lowest shelf price of the supermarket giants.

“Every day we see the prices and we make the change,” Mr Ramage said.

“There’s nothing they need to do to get the prices, just look out for the blue tickets in store.”