As food prices continue to rise and consumers become more thrifty, major supermarkets are lowering the prices of some products by improving the efficiency of delivery.
Of these, supermarkets under the umbrella of AEON, a major distribution company, have reduced prices of a total of 9 items, including private-brand salad oil and ramen, at approximately 1,31 stores nationwide since September.
The company says that the reason for this is that raw material prices have stabilized despite the depreciation of the yen, and that the company has streamlined truck transportation by moving production lines to factories close to distribution centers and has reduced logistics costs.
In addition, about 60 co-ops nationwide are cutting prices on about 11 items, including milk, bread, and cooking oil, until the end of November. By ordering products sold nationwide in bulk, we are keeping the cost of purchasing down.
Yuji Miyakita, general manager of the Sales Planning Department of the Japan Federation of Consumers' Co-operative Associations, said, "The number of items purchased has decreased due to rising prices, so we want people to use many products by lowering prices."
According to credit research firms, although such moves to reduce food prices have been observed in some areas amid consumers' desire to save money, food price increases may continue intermittently from next year onwards due to the continued increase in the price of imported ingredients due to the depreciation of the yen and the continued increase in costs of packaging materials.