Mercadona, Carrefour, Amazon ... in which of these stores have you ever bought? In Spain, the purchase of the online supermarket represents only 1% of the sales made in these establishments. In fact, the president of Mercadona himself has said clearly and simply that " the online store is a ***** ".
Supermarkets cannot lose customers who demand to make purchases over the Internet. However, the added costs of purchase preparation and delivery make the service lose profitability. And it is also the supermarkets themselves that lose money.
For users, on the other hand, making the purchase through the Internet does not mean much more than adding a small extra cost to the final price for shipping and preparation costs. If you are willing to take them, the next thing you can ask yourself is the question of prices. Is buying at the Carrefour store the same as doing it at Mercadona? Can I save some money if I finally buy from Amazon?
Mercadona, Carrefour, Amazon, their prices
The truth is that the prices that we can find in stores are not far from those that these supermarkets offer us in their online stores. One of the clearest cases is that of Mercadona. The Juan Roig chain is one of the ones that offers the least discounts , both in its physical supermarkets and in the online store.
Prices are generally lower than in other supermarkets. But it is also that, with very few exceptions, most of the products offered are private label . This means that, at most, there are occasional promotions for seasonal foods, new launches or product packages (for example, two body creams for the price of one).
Carrefour is one of the most expensive supermarkets. However, it is also one of the ones that offers the most offers. They include, for example, the offers in diapers and other products of frequent use, which can be especially expensive normally. There are also many combo (3 × 2). For example, right now there is this offer on more than 5,000 items until May 10.
Amazon offers this online shopping service as an addition to its distribution service for other items . Users can find offers on some products. Amazon Pantry, for example, is an interesting service to get better prices on recurring products (such as toilet paper, laundry soap, or dishwasher detergent). In these cases it is even possible to buy products in larger quantities, typically for professional use, for more affordable prices.
To check the prices of each of these online supermarkets, we have observed the price of some items, matching (as far as possible) the brands and formats. The results are the following:
- Bezoya Natural Mineral Water (Pack of 6) : € 3.48 (Mercadona) | € 3.48 (Carrefour) | € 5.70 (Amazon)
- Normal Coca-Cola (2 liters and 2 units) : € 3.46 (Mercadona) | € 2.62 (Carrefour) | € 3.28 (Amazon)
- Lays potato chips (170 grams) : € 0.95 (Mercadona) * | € 1.12 (Carrefour) | € 1.00 (Amazon)
- Fabric softener Flor Azul Classic : € 2.90 (Mercadona) | € 3.70 (Carrefour) | € 2.89 (Amazon)
How much would the purchase cost us
The same purchase made in one place or another would cost us a different price. In addition, we should add the shipping and preparation costs, which in each of these stores are as follows: Mercadona : € 7.21, Carrefour : 9 and Amazon : € 5.
Thus, the purchase ticket at Mercadona would amount to € 10.79. The one from Carrefour, at € 10.92. And the one from Amazon, at € 12.88. With the shipping costs, the final price would be:
- Mercadona: € 18
- Carrefour: € 19.92
- Amazon: € 17.88
Be careful with the services and extra payments
A good way to save money is to know how to take advantage of the services or flat rates offered by supermarkets such as Carrefour or Amazon. This is not an option that you have available in Mercadona, in which the shipping and preparation costs are always the same (7.21 euros).
But in the case of Carrefour you have Carrefour PASS, the card of this supermarket. If you like to buy here and you plan to make large purchases, this may be good for you, because shipping costs can be free or at a better price. For purchases over 100 euros or 120 euros (after discounts) shipping is free . In this case, even if you use other forms of payment, the purchase will also be free. For purchases between 90 and 120 euros, you will pay a little less: 6 euros.
If you buy online, but you can pick it up in store (it is the Drive service) you will only pay preparation costs. These are free for purchases from 50 euros and cost 3 euros, if the purchase is less than 50 euros.
In the case of Amazon, you need to be a little more careful. Why? Well, because even if you are subscribed to Amazon Prime, the delivery services for supermarket products have to be paid for separately . The normal thing is that they charge you 5 euros. But beware, because Amazon also has the Amazon Pantry service, which is based on a checkout system.
If any of the products you have chosen (given the disorder that exists in Amazon, it would not be strange if it happened to you) is part of a promotion for Amazon Pantry, you would have to pay an extra expense of 4 euros per box. So in the end, the order could cost you very high shipping costs. Keep this in mind if you don't want to get an unpleasant surprise in the form of a purchase receipt.
In conclusion
In this case, the purchase would be more in Carrefour and the cheapest supermarket , although the prices of the products are higher, it would be Amazon, for a difference of just € 0.12 with Carrefour. The difference between the cheapest and the most expensive supermarket (Amazon and Carrefour) would be 2.04 euros.
However, it must be taken into account that:
- The prices of the products can vary , depending on the supermarket and the offers that you want to offer at all times. Both Amazon and Carrefour have specific offers that we have been able to find today, but that perhaps in a week we would not detect.
- The results of this comparison may vary over time . Not so much the shipping costs, which are usually maintained over time.
- Many of the products that Mercadona offers are private label . Thus, for example, in this comparison we have not been able to find Lays potatoes and we have had to purchase private label ones. This reduces the price considerably and, therefore, Mercadona wins with a cheaper ticket. If you settle for private labels, the purchase price can be reduced considerably, but the comparison is clearly not one hundred percent fair.