Rima 1000, food prices | Rema 1000 more than doubled the price, then they advertised at a 30 percent discount

This week Rema 1000 is announcing a 30 percent discount on all fruits and vegetables.

But clementine prices make many people wonder how good Rema 1000's offerings are.

– What cunning people!

On a Facebook group, a Rema 1000 customer posted a photo and the following text:

“What a crafty Reema! Before Christmas, clementines cost $19.90, so they doubled the price to $44.90 and then gave people with the app a 30% discount! She probably did the same with all the fruits and veggies (I didn't check them)!”

Clementines have cost $19.90 since the beginning of December and have remained unchanged for several weeks. Then Rema 1000 raised the price from 19.90 to 44.90. This corresponds to a price increase of 125 percent. Immediately after that came a 30 percent discount offer. But how good is it then?

– It is very common for prices to rise before discounts are offered. I've seen it when they get 50 percent off stuff too, someone wrote under the Facebook post.

Another writes:

-I wonder if this is legal at all, for all other goods in this country this is illegal according to the Consumer Council. Then it is the lowest price in the last 30 days. It looked a bit strange “before price 19.90 now 31.43 with Æ”.

“This would be so stupid, people would follow it,” someone wrote.

– Scams cost 19.90 before Christmas, writes another.

– Not inside at all

Blogger Ron Nicolaisen, known as Gjerrigknarken, is well aware that people react.

– It is difficult to understand that 31 Norwegian kroner is a good offer when the same clementine cost 19.90 a few days ago, Nicolaisen tells Nettavisen.

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– I don't think they're doing it to deceive us, but it's no wonder people feel deceived. He says customers look at the before-and-after prices of clementines and wonder what the food moguls are earning.

He doesn't think Rema 1000 takes into account how people experience the shows.

– It's a shame you can't believe a 30 percent offer. It's obviously contradictory when the price has been $19.90 for ages and then doubles from one day to the next, Nicolaysen says.

– Fraud and fuss

Rema 1000 clementines cost $39.90 when Nettavisen tested the lower-priced chains on November 22.

At VG's food market on December 5, it cost $19.90, and that was the price until New Year's Eve. The price was then raised to 44.90 and at the same time the offer was made at a 30 percent discount.

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Gjerrigknarken understands that some customers do not trust that all offers are actually good buys.

– I wouldn't say this is fraud and hype, but these pedigree displays can give the wrong impression, says Nicolaisen.

Refers to the Christmas campaign

Nettavisen requested an interview with Rema 1000, but was told that was not possible: Rema 1000 wanted to ask questions via email instead.

We asked Rema 1000 if they understand that people are reacting to the clementine offer that came after a sharp price increase. We also asked how many other items were priced ahead of the offer at 30 percent off.

Rema 1000 sent a response noting that clementines were among the items on sale before Christmas, and that they thought customers would appreciate a 30 percent discount. But they don't answer these questions:

– Do you understand that customers can respond to this?

– How many other items had their prices raised by 30 percent in the days before the offer arrived?

Read Rema 1000's response in full here:

Rima 1000 answered this

This is the answer Nettavisen received from Category and Purchasing Manager Line Aarnes:

“We always have good activities, campaigns and offers to ensure our customers get the lowest final amount in the box. That's why we've frozen over 1,000 items until Easter, as one measure to give our customers predictability and security at a time when these extra items become important. Before Christmas , we've also reduced the price by half VAT on over 100 Christmas-related items, as well as running a long series of limited-time campaigns leading up to Christmas, including one on clementines. REMA 1000 is supposed to be cheaper Grocery stores in the country, so this week we have a campaign in Æ in which our customers get a 30% discount on all fruits and vegetables, which we believe our customers appreciate after a period that entails large expenses, such as Christmas. The price of goods is constantly affected by the market, and this is especially true for “Fruits and vegetables, so we don’t know what the actual price is when we plan an activity like the campaign we are running now with a 30% discount on fruits and vegetables.”

– Return to the market price

Nettavisen once again tried to get an answer, and we also asked about this:

– Do Rema customers have to expect a significant increase in the price of the goods on offer before you take a percentage discount?

Category and Purchasing Manager Line Aarnes answers as follows:

– Before Christmas, there is always fierce competition to attract customers. Clementines are a popular Christmas product and we ran a campaign on clementines at $19.90, including New Year's Eve. Then the campaign period ended and the price returned to the market price, Arness wrote in an email.

“To start the year with a 30 percent discount on all fresh fruits and vegetables, including clementines, is something we believe the vast majority of customers will appreciate,” she writes.

The question of how many items Rema 1000 increased the price of before offering the 30 percent discount remains unanswered.