With food high, experts help save when shopping

Shopping in a short period of time, researching prices in different supermarkets and replacing product brands are some of the golden rules of specialists from Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV) and Ibmec to save money on purchases in the face of price increases of food and the loss of Brazilian purchasing power.

FGV economist Alberto Ajzental explains that current inflationary volatility is not the same as in the 1980s in Brazil, where prices varied daily. The purchase per month began at that time and a kind of food stock was created in the pantry.

With high unemployment and economic uncertainty, Ajzental explains that families are not having enough money to buy in large quantities.

“If you have high but constant inflation, you don’t have to rush out to buy everything at once. The most important thing is to buy in groups, with neighbors, family members, in cheaper places or wholesale supermarkets. It is better to buy quantity in a cheaper place, than to stock it”, highlights the economist.

The Brazilian Supermarket Association (Abras) announced last week that the price of the basket of consumer products increased by 1.33% in February this year, compared to the previous month. In January, the average value of the basket was R$ 709.63, in February, the products had a value of R$ 719.06.

The main tip for a scenario of high prices, in addition to frequency, is the comparison research between existing supermarkets in the neighborhood and surroundings. This is the consumer’s main tool when it comes to saving on food, according to another economist at the foundation, Professor Joelson Sampaio.

“There are studies that mapped out good practices at the time of purchases, when you have higher inflation. Another aspect of the importance of researching prices is that the variation between establishments is greater, so families must map the places where it is cheaper to buy certain products,” says Sampaio.

The seasonality of the products, mainly fruits and vegetables, was another important factor pointed out by the specialists. As these foods spoil more quickly, their tip for consumers is to buy in small quantities and weekly.

The category of in natura goods also suffers a strong impact from inflation, according to data from Abras. Items such as potatoes and onions showed an increase, respectively, of 23.49% and 3.26% in price in February this year.

Ibmec professor, Gilberto Braga, says that making a shopping list and replacing brands is essential to save money and try to fill the cart.

“It is also important to always look up and down on the shelves and on the shelves all the available brands, because markets have the habit of centralizing their own brand products, they put the brand they intend to encourage at the time of the eye”, concludes the teacher.

At the beginning of the month, the Broad Consumer Price Index (IPCA), released by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) showed that the food and beverage group is among those that most pulled the March price hike. Transport and housing are also among the highlights of inflation.