What will the anti-inflation basket look like?

Energy allowances, fuel allowances, inflation allowances… Faced with the increase in prices which weighs on all daily expenses, the government multiplies its push. To guarantee access to food products, whose prices have increased by an average of 12% in 2022, Bercy is once again using creativity. Latest project: the creation of an anti-inflationary basket proposed by Olivia Grégoire, Minister Delegate for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, Commerce, Crafts and Tourism. Inspired by a Greek initiative whose results are proving to be positive (with a price reduction of 25% on a basket of 51 products), this system would be up to the distributors. A good way to prevent the government from getting their hands on your wallet this time.

Aim for iconic everyday purchases

On the menu, a list of 20 products offered at low prices. If you don’t know the details, everything suggests that we should find the emblematic household purchases, i.e. bread, rice, pasta, yoghurt and many others. This catalogue, which will not be defined by the government to respect the competition between brands, will be developed by each distributor, on a voluntary basis. To help consumers, a website will be created to list the different products and allow them to choose between their needs.

Many questions

However, this device raises many questions because the contours and modalities are not yet clear. Will the products be national brands or private labels? And above all what will be the price charged? A priori the government puts forward the idea of selling at cost. This means that the store sells a product at the price at which it bought it itself, without making a markup. The problem is that today, and under the Egalim law, brands must generate at least a 10% margin on sales. It would therefore be necessary to review the regulatory outlines and provide for exceptions.

Another gray area, will the anti-inflationary basket add to (or replace) the promotional operations already carried out by distributors? Because the cartels do not hesitate to activate this lever for several months to build consumer loyalty: Leclerc’s anti-inflation shield, campaigns on “hundreds of products at fixed prices” at the Casino, Intermarché, Lidl or Carrefour. It is therefore not uncommon to see “punch” operations with, for example, a fillet of oranges or lemons for 0.99 euros, a batch of four bifidi yoghurts for 0.85 euros, eight slices of ham for 1.85 euros. “We did not wait for the government’s proposal to apply attractive prices”, underlines the spokesman of Système U, Thierry Desouches. Same story among the ranks of the group of Alexandre Bompard (Carrefour), “we have already launched similar initiatives for over a year”.

A meeting in Bercy at the end of the week

Should we therefore see in this government proposal yet another announcement effect to comfort the consumer? Because a list of 20 everyday products out of the 20,000-30,000 references offered in stores seems a bit short… “You need to know what you’re talking about. Everyday needs are not the same for everyone, whether it’s a family with children, pets or people alone,” adds Didier Duhaupand.

Questions that the government will have to answer. “There will be a meeting on the subject in Bercy at the end of the week,” anticipates Michel Biero.

Between the Descrozaille law, which aims to change the framework of commercial negotiations with manufacturers, and this anti-inflation project, distributors are put to the test at the beginning of the year.

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