Families paying more at supermarket checkouts, survey reveals

Fijian families are paying more for everyday groceries not only because prices are rising, but because supermarket discounts that once eased the cost of living are quietly disappearing.

A new market surveillance report by the Consumer Council of Fiji has identified a growing “hidden inflation” trend, where shelf prices may appear stable but reduced promotional offers are increasing what shoppers pay at the checkout.

The multi-week monitoring exercise, conducted from late March to early May 2026 across major supermarket chains, linked the trend to ongoing global fuel-related supply chain pressures.

In a media statement issued this morning, the council said it found a “two-tier” inflation effect, with commonly purchased items such as rice, eggs, cooking oil, tea bags, biscuits, soap, sausages, toilet paper and washing powder recording average price increases of between 15 and 35 per cent during the monitoring period.

While some price-controlled goods remain below regulated caps, the Consumer Council noted that average discounts on these items had been reduced, narrowing the gap between promotional and standard prices.

Consumer Council chief executive officer Seema Shandil said the findings highlighted cost-of-living pressures that were not always obvious to shoppers.

“Our findings provide hard evidence of a creeping cost-of-living burden that is not always immediately apparent,” Ms Shandil said.

“When the deep discounts that families rely on to stretch their budget are quietly reduced, it is the ordinary consumer who pays the price at the checkout.

“We are seeing a ‘discount illusion’ where the retail environment feels stable, yet the actual purchasing power of every dollar is being slowly eroded.”

The council warned that what it described as a “staircase effect” in pricing — where increases rarely return to previous levels — was steadily lifting the baseline cost of household goods.

It said continued pressure from global fuel costs could further reduce discounting strategies, placing additional strain on household budgets already under pressure.

The council said it would continue monitoring supermarket prices in the coming months and urged consumers to compare prices, seek bargains and plan spending carefully to manage rising costs.