Research: German Discounters and supermarkets on a par in price
- DRC Discount Retail Consulting GmbH
- 3 hours ago
- 3 min read
German consumers are increasingly looking at prices when shopping for food. But whether they shop at the discounter or in the normal supermarket apparently makes practically no difference.
Whether butter, coffee or sausage: The main German discounters ALDI and Lidl are currently engaged in particularly intense competition. Sometimes one lowers prices first, sometimes the other reacts with an even cheaper offer, most recently, for example, for chocolate products.
The price war is also a reaction to changing buying behaviour: According to a survey by the retail research institute IFH Cologne, more than 70 percent of consumers compare prices more closely when shopping for groceries and are more likely to take advantage of special offers.
"Equal to the cent"
Whether discounters are actually cheaper has been analysed by the comparison app Smhaggle on behalf of the German Press Agency. The core product ranges were examined, around 2,000 products that are available from all suppliers and are therefore easily comparable. Special offers were not taken into account. The result: the prices are almost identical across all providers.
"Whether it's milk, yoghurt, pasta, butter or cucumber: the prices of these products are the same to the penny, with a few exceptions," says Smhaggle Managing Director Sven Reuter. This applies to both private labels and branded products, regardless of whether they are discounters or supermarkets.
Regional deviations are possible, for example in markets run by independent merchants. According to Reuter, the evaluation is based on more than 10,000 receipts a day, which users upload via the app.
Prices align
Typically, the discounters lower prices first. Other retailers such as Rewe, Edeka or Kaufland will then quickly follow suit. According to Reuter, they often react within a few hours or one to two days. Since prices then converge again, there can be no question of a permanent price leadership of a single retailer.
Rewe now openly advertises that it offers several thousand products permanently at discounter level and regularly compares prices with ALDI and Lidl. Edeka is also pursuing a similar approach.
Where are the differences?
Retail experts see the differences between discounters and supermarkets disappearing overall. Discounters are investing more in ambience and branded products. "The quality of the goods is also high," says Michael Gerling, Managing Director of the retail research institute EHI. Supermarkets would have to make more of an effort and offer additional experience value, for example through gastronomy, service counters, events or regional assortments.
However, one clear difference has remained: discounters carry significantly fewer items. From the point of view of Carsten Kortum, professor of commerce at the Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University Heilbronn, this is not necessarily a disadvantage. "Selection is basically good, but too much can also overwhelm," he says. A clearer selection makes it easier for many customers to make a purchase decision.
Shift in favour of the discounters
In terms of sales, the discounters are ahead overall. Their market share in the trade with everyday products is a good 38 % while supermarkets such as Rewe and Edeka come to around 28.5 %. Experts explain the shift in favour of discounters, which has been going on for years, primarily with increased price awareness as a result of high inflation.
According to Smhaggle boss Reuter, those who really want to save money can do so primarily through targeted purchases of promotional products - regardless of whether they are made at discounters or in supermarkets.
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