Riga resident Arturs Zykov, creator of the price comparison service "Cenudepo.lv", believes that by shopping thoughtfully rather than impulsively, we can stop the rise in food prices, writes Ir.
A similar idea for a price comparison tool came to the minds of students from the Riga Business School, Renars Laitans and Martins Svikkalns, last year.
"As students, we are always looking for the cheapest products. Last summer, we noticed that prices for some goods had risen significantly," recalls Laitans.
To make it easier for themselves and others, the website "Letapartika.lv" was created in a couple of weeks. Information is collected not only from the online stores of major retail chains - several retailers provide price information themselves. Users can also submit and update information in "Cenudepo".
Starting from December 1, developers of price comparison services can also use information from the Central Statistical Bureau about consumer prices for basic goods. While comparing prices, Zykov noticed several interesting trends. For example, items from the low-price basket are often absent from store shelves; a retailer advertises cheap eggs, but they are not available at the local store at all, or eggs from another producer can be bought even cheaper.
For major players "Rimi" and "Maxima", prices for the same goods are generally the same - this was also noted in the spring by economist of the Bank of Latvia Oleg Krasnopyorov.
"Other stores set a higher price to make a profit, or a lower one to attract customers, but their weight in the market is so small that they cannot significantly influence competition," concluded Zykov.
Recently published data from the Central Statistical Bureau shows that efforts to curb price growth have not yet been particularly successful. In October, consumer prices rose by 0.4%, and annual inflation reached 4.3%.
