Do you think grocery stores raised their prices a little too much because of rising gas prices?

Question

I was in the pasta section of the store yesterday -- all the pasta was at least double in price than it was before grocery stores decided to up their prices. I'm sure some of that pasta has been on the shelves over three months, too! Other items in the store were similarly inflated.

Do you think grocery stores have been price gouging?

Answer 1

Absolutely. Everything has to get to the store somehow and so the price of gas affects the prices in the stores. But they will raise all prices, not say "this pasta was here before the price rise, we'll keep it lower" They will charge the same for all of it, unless it is getting too old and they put it on sale, probably for just a little less than it currently is. The price of gas also goes up as soon as there is talk of higher prices for a barrel of oil. The oil in the pump could not be affected by the oil that is just going on the market but they still put in higher prices as soon as it is announced.

Answer 2

Yes, grocery store items are rising because they have to pay more to get the food because of gas, so they rise the grocery items higher to still get profits.

Answer 3

Yep, grocery prices are definitely rising..

Answer 4

well yes and no but u can thanx the good ole boys in washington for a ll the high prices  i know in my state we have a us senator and house of rep up for re-election there is no way i am going too re-elect them if u wanna blame bush go ahead but what exactly did Congress do? they voted party lines and nothing got done again. regardless of party affliation i am going too vote for a fresh face we need it and i am going too do it till things change.

Answer 5

No one do business whether it is a grocery stores or a manufacturing company etc., will always be on profit earning only. so, it is natural. They are finding chances to increase.

Answer 6

No. You should look at what is going on in NYMEX and see what its like being the owner of a supermarket chain.

Answer 7

I don't know where you're from, but I wouldn't be surprised. With the insane way petrol prices are going, that certainly would have effect on the production and transport of the goods to the store. To cover the costs, they would probably up the price so yes, you could be right in saying so. However, I have heard of some stores which do unfairly raise the prices. Whatever the reason, let's all go hybrid!

Answer 8

Trickle down effect.

During this last inflationary cycle it was crude oil that took the lead.

Everything around you must adjust its cost/quality/availability or something else. The ripples from such an excessive change in fuel will cause adjustments in other markets to continue or a longer period of time.

The answer - with food, the price you paid before was only slightly more than the cost to produce the food. Food has to make a large increase in prices to remain profitable.

Look around and find things that haven't changed in price or have actually gone down - those were the real cheats. They made money like crazy off of you before.

Answer 9

I think raising it double is too much. Raising prices by 25 cents is reasonable to me,  but then again you have too look in the eyes of the owner/manager of the store. Gas is going down though :)

Answer 10

Definitely. Not only have food prices skyrocketed, but grocers also try to "trick us" by packaging smaller portions. Fore example that 2 gallon tub of ice cream is now 1.5 gallons. The width and height of the package stays the same but the depth has gotten smaller. And the grocery stores hope you don't notice. But smart shoppers always do. As with big oil, the grocery chains also are driven by corporate greed.

Use coupons, and buy two for one specials. And always check the unit price of an item. I also do comparison shopping. For example I find that the Korean chain stores offer far better prices and quality on fresh fruits and vegetables than do the big chain grocery stores. And Costco's food prices aren't good anymore.

Corporate greed drives much of the market place. But what goes around comes around. As grocers, insurance companies, colleges, and big oil raise their prices, consumers have less disposable income - so they shop less and save less. By shopping less, retailers are hurt and people lose jobs. This in turn causes even more people to buy less. It's a chain reaction. By taking too much away from the people you hurt yourself.  

Answer 11

The grocery stores are blaming the rise of the food prices due the increase of the petroleum prices however this partially spurious. The rise in the food prices was due to greed and the pocket books of the stockholders of these grocery stores. With the price of oil prices dropping the consumers will not see a drop in food prices. What a shame!

Answer 12

Absolutely.. My grocery bill has almost doubled recently.  

I think businesses everywhere have taken advantage of gas prices, using it as an excuse to raise prices and increase their profits.  

Answer 13

Gas prices AND food prices have been going up, so it's a double whammy on grocery store prices, since it's food that has to be trucked in.

Try a different grocery store if you feel like you're being ripped off.

Or make your own pasta.

Answer 14

I don't think that grocery stores are raising their prices because of gas prices. It could be part of it but I think it is scarcity, or they are gouging. I have noticed some inflated foods myself.

Answer 15

yes since gas has gone up so much in the last few years a lot of the most important things in the grocery store r sky rocketing through the roof like milk, butter, bread, corn, and all wheat and meat and a lot of crop stuff has gone up a few dollars so the answer is yes they r both going up a lot

Answer 16

Too bl**dy right they have. I paid £7.98 for a chicken in Asda this week. I couldn't believe it... a few weeks ago they were around a fiver. I started looking at all the prices then. Nearly £7 for a large tub of washing powder, well I'm afraid I put it back un-named brands for me from now on! £1.62 for same size. I mean, come on, washing powder is just washing powder, yes? The fancy box just goes in the bin!

Answer 17

Oh I totally think they are putting their prices up to high!

Imagine how many packets of pasta they could fit in a truck, multiply that by the price that each pack has gone up, and you'll find a horrifyingly large amount of money!

I know that also the price of fuel would have gone up at the manufacturers when making it, distribution centers, packaging plants etc, but I hardly think the price that ends up on the shelf reflects the increase in gas costings from creating it to eating it.

Answer 18

gas prices has raised alot of things,

and that is sad,,

i have noticed that myself,

everything goes up but the paycheck,, LOL