The grocery staples you should never pay full price for

Over a third of grocery items sold at Coles and Woolworths, including beef and butter, have increased in price since January, according to new data that tracked the cost of 23 products.

Richard Stevens from price comparison app Zyft told 9News this is largely due to general inflation and an increase in the cost of production which has “flowed through to what you pay at the checkout”.

Beef mince has increased by $1, or 12.5 per cent. Butter is up $1 or 13.3 per cent. Yoghurt is up by nearly $1. And cheese slices have increased by 80c per pack.

It isn’t all bad news. A quarter of grocery items tracked have in fact become cheaper.

Crushed tomatoes fell 10.3 per cent, sugar dropped 11.5 per cent, eggs are down 1.7 per cent, and oranges, carrots, and potatoes falling in price during peak season.

The remainder of the items tracked played by their own rules entirely.

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“There were some key household items that the price bounces around quite a bit,” Stevens explained.

“On a given day if you are shopping at one supermarket, it could cost you a lot more than if you just spent the time seeing how it was priced elsewhere.”

These items included coffee, tea, olive oil, Weet-Bix, laundry liquid, and toilet paper prices fluctuated wildly between supermarkets each offering their own weekly catalogue specials on these key items.

Stevens said to find the cheapest prices on items such as this, shoppers need to do a “real live price check” because they “aren’t always on sale at the same time”.

And it seems the pain at the checkout is far from over, with farming costs continuing to increase.

Rabobank senior analyst Michael Harvey told 9News milk, red meat, and high-protein dairy products will continue to face price pressures.

He said sweet treats including chocolate products should stabilise in price thanks to a stabilised cocoa market after a period of record high prices due to severe weather conditions in growing regions.

“Cocoa markets are in much better shape, which means lower prices for longer then that opens up the door some relief on the chocolate shelf as well,” he explained.

Harvey added that there is also some relief to come for dairy products, with global butter prices falling “dramatically”.

Nine money editor Effie Zahos recommended shoppers track specials and compare prices between supermarkets as being the best way to save, and to ensure they are paying the lowest prices possible week to week.

Aussie shoppers have also managed to save significantly at the checkout by switching to supermarket home brands.

Compare the Market data has shown families can save more than $3400 each year by making the switch.

Its analysis of 20 everyday household items at two major supermarkets found $64.90 or 43 per cent saving when switching to home brands, almost $290 each month.

The analysis examined everyday items including milk, bread, eggs, cheese, laundry powder, toilet paper, coffee, and cleaning spray.

Reductions of 90 cents to $9 were observed when switching from big brands to budget items.