Carrefour Prices Rise by 4% Despite Israel Basket Initiative
The 'Israel Basket' initiative ended after six months, yet data reveals Carrefour prices rose by about 4%, defying expectations of lower costs for consumers.
The "Israel Basket" initiative was designed to lower prices and ignite competition among supermarket chains for consumers' wallets, but Carrefour has seen the exact opposite trend: tested product prices rose by about 4% compared to pre-initiative levels.
Carrefour Prices Rise Despite Initiative
Recall that the "Israel Basket" initiative concluded this month after a six-month pilot and is not being renewed at this stage. At Carrefour Hyper, an increase of 4.18% was recorded, while Carrefour Market saw a 4.07% hike. Even before the launch, Carrefour ranked second among the most expensive chains tested, trailing only Shufersal. In the current assessment, it remains in second place, just behind Shufersal's Universe.
The findings were broadcast on the television program "HaTinor", utilizing data provided by Prices. Prior to the launch, Carrefour's CEO was asked whether the chain could compete with Rami Levy. The unequivocal answer was: "Clearly, clearly."
Broader Market Trends and Chain Comparisons
Carrefour's entry into Israel was initially accompanied by grand promises. The arrival of the French retail giant was heralded as a major breakthrough for Israeli consumers. However, the latest data shows that for "Israel Basket" items, prices are higher than they were before the project began.
Other chains also showed significant increases. Shufersal's Universe topped the list with a 9.11% surge, followed by Rami Levy at 5.24%, Carrefour Hyper at 3.64%, Osher Ad at 3.00%, and Yochananof at 2.03%.
During the same timeframe, the general Consumer Price Index rose by approximately 1.3%. According to the data presented on "HaTinor", top-selling products across the tested chains increased at much higher rates—Universe's price jump was roughly seven times the rise in the general index.
"The basket brought direct savings to consumers, estimated at least at 40 million NIS," stated the Ministry of Economy and Industry.
This is precisely the issue the "Israel Basket" was meant to address. Spearheaded by Economy Minister Nir Barkat, the project was introduced as a mechanism to drive chain competition and push prices down. Conversely, the published checks indicate that at least some chains moved in the opposite direction.
Carrefour disputes the findings, stating: "Our internal checks on identical Israel Basket products show that Carrefour Hyper is among the three cheapest baskets in the country."
