A Morrisons shopper has criticised the price of groceries as "nonsensical" after finding that many essentials carried a higher price tag than competitors.
The supermarket has come under fire from shoppers recently for increasing its food prices, with a weekly comparison of the major supermarkets by the Manchester Evening News finding that Morrisons is the second-most expensive for basics like bread, butter and milk after Tesco. Customers have accused Morrisons of "taking the mick" with its price hikes - but how does it fare when it comes to a weekly shop?
A reporter from the Manchester Evening News paid a visit to the supermarket to see whether Morrisons deserves its price-hiking reputation, and found herself "surprised" by the results. While there were some bargains to be found, the price tag on some products left the shopper "staggered".
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There were plenty of reasonable prices in the fruit and veg aisle, including a 2.5kg bag of Maris Piper potatoes for £1.49 - 10p less than Aldi - 49p for a kilo of carrots, and 69p for a broccoli. Meanwhile, over at the fridges a 750g pack of mince had a £4.29 price tag, matching Aldi's price.
But it wasn't all good news at the supermarket. Morrisons recently increased its 300g pack of chicken breasts from £2.49 to £2.59, the highest price out of the six major supermarkets, and a similar trend could be seen on the shelves in-store.
Among the prices that left the shopper "stunned" were a 400g tin of Ambrosia custard for £1.99, a large chicken for £5.29, and a gammon joint for an eye-watering £7.49 - working out at £5.34 a kilo compared to Aldi and Tesco's £3.79. Meanwhile, a 500g tub of Lurpak was on sale for £4.99.
The reporter also found that some of the prices were "nonsensical" - such as a 250g tub of Flora Lighter selling for £1.65, while a much bigger 450g tub had a price tag of £1.75. Similarly, a 190g tub of Bisto gravy was £2.99 - but the 350g tub was actually cheaper at £2.50.
Research published by consumer experts at Which? this week showed that the cost of basic groceries has jumped across all supermarkets by 30% since last December. The items to take the biggest hit include butters and spreads, up 29.4%, milk 26.3%, cheese 22.3%, bakery items 19.5%, water 18.6% and savoury pies, pastries and quiches 18.5%.
Despite Morrisons attracting criticism from shoppers for its price increases, the research from Which? found that other supermarkets had hiked their prices more. Lidl and Aldi were both found to have upped prices by more than 20%, compared to Morrisons' 12.9%.
A Morrisons spokesperson said: "We continue to work hard to keep prices down for our customers while maintaining high standards and availability in all our stores. We have recently introduced three significant price cutting initiatives to help our customers through this unprecedented period of inflation.
"We are also investing in our My Morrisons app offering shoppers exclusive deals and have introduced an online shopping hub called 'More Ways To Save', which helps customers identify savings across a number of categories."
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