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Per unit pricing

The eagle-eyed among you will have noticed that Coles and Woolies have started introducing per-unit pricing. That is, the price tag for products won’t just show how much the product costs, it’ll also show in smaller print how much it costs according to a standard unit of measure. For example, for a 500g jar of Brand A peanut butter costs $6.49, and the price tag also shows you that it costs $1.30 per 100g. This becomes useful when you start comparing different sizes in the same product range. Say the 200g jar of the same brand peanut butter costs $2.99, […]

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Pay less and get more by bulk buying

The American retail icon, Costco, recently launched a new store in the Melbourne docklands area, and will soon also open a store in the Sydney suburb of Auburn. While it could be considered similar to your Coles or Woolies in that they sell groceries, the Costco shopping experience differs from the traditional supermarket model. Consider these two types of shoppers: “hoarders” (like me) who buy up big when things are cheap, and “grazers” (like my wife) who buy what’s needed when it’s needed. The pro’s of being a hoarder are: convenience – when you run out of toothpaste, you just […]

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Frequent shopper programs

If you thought Frequent Flyer programs were only for travel, think again! Many of the more popular schemes now also include options for spending reward points on everyday products and services, which means that you can redeem your rewards much sooner, and more often. With Qantas and Woolworths joining forces recently, and Coles and Flybuys looking at ways to reinvigorate their partnership, an epic battle is being fought over our wallets, with free pies and deep discounts on petrol promising to be just the beginning. Here’s a quick overview of the players*: Woolworths and Qantas The Woolworths everyday rewards program […]

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Shopping for groceries

Have you found yourself eating out less and less as the recession starts to bite? There’s one area which isn’t suffering in this current economic climate: groceries. Supermarkets (and book sellers) are doing a roaring trade as a result of more people cooking and eating more meals at home, so there are definitely bargains to be had! Here are a couple of shopping tips to help you fill your fridge without emptying your wallet: Pick the right time to shop If you go to the supermarket in the late evenings just before the shops close, especially before weekends and public […]