News that's easy to swallow: 2 years of stable grocery prices A marketbasket of food costs about what it did in 1995, an isle survey finds
By Peter Wagner
Star-BulletinThis might not take the edge off a $7 box of cereal or a $5 bag of potato chips, but food prices on Oahu on average have not gone up in the past two years. That's according to First Hawaiian Bank, which recently marked a continuing trend of flat prices in Honolulu supermarkets.
The bank's latest semiannual Supermarket Prices Index, compiled for the Star-Bulletin, showed no change between October and April. The survey of 10 local supermarkets found that the same 32 grocery items, ranging from hamburger to toiletries, have cost about $78 since the first survey was taken in 1995.
"This should be good news that the cost of living is not going up," said Leroy Laney, First Hawaiian's chief economist. "If you're on a fixed income or not getting a raise, it does indicate that the cost of living is not getting more onerous."Using the October 1995 survey as a base of 100, the bank's latest survey puts the index for April at 99.6, exactly where it was last October.
Laney noted that some food items showed wild price swings from October to last month but canceled each other out in a basketful of groceries.
"One thing that jumps out is bananas," said Laney, referring to the latest index. "I don't know why they're up 36.7 percent."
Iceberg lettuce by contrast was down 17.1 percent.
But there was little celebration in Honolulu supermarkets this week, where shoppers continued to pick carefully at the highest-priced groceries in the nation.
"I get my bananas at Safeway because they're 89 cents a pound," said Jim Masaki, shopping recently with his wife Sally at Foodland on Beretania Street. "They're $1.39 a pound here."
The 55-year-old St. Louis Heights resident was clutching a loaf of French bread and two bags of English muffins.
"We shop at different stores, depending where the best deals are," he said.
Studying a label nearby was Dorothy Thompson, a 67-year-old Makiki resident who spends half the year in Grants Pass, Ore.
"I'm always horrified to come back and see the prices in Hawaii," she said. "I wait until things go on sale, and then I stock up. I also use coupons."
Store operators say the flat prices reflect a stale economy and competitive market.
"Competition is at a very high point at all levels, starting with farmers, manufacturers, brokers and retailers," said David Higashiama, vice president of marketing and store operation at Times Super Market.
"Competition is keener because the economy does not allow prices to increase. So we're all trying to keep a share of the market."
Adding to the challenge, Higashiama said, is the entry of big discount stores like Price/Costco, Sam's Club, Wal-Mart and Kmart.
Like its competitors, Times is looking for new ways to keep customers in its stores, including better upkeep and a discount card. The Times Royal Card offers product discounts without the hassle of pasting stamps or cutting coupons.
Foodland Super Market dangles a similar carrot with its Makai card. And Star Markets recently began publishing "double coupons" in newspapers, adding up to 75 cents to other coupon discounts.
"It was obviously a competitive response," said Gary Spence, vice president at Star.
"We're also working hard on customer service."
Safeway, likewise, is offering direct-mail double and triple coupons for up to $1-per-item savings.
But despite the stable prices, spruced-up service and price-cutting promotions, shoppers remain shell-shocked by Hawaii's food prices.
"My brother wants to come back from the mainland, but I tell him, 'No, stay there,'" said Della Auld, 73, of Makiki. "He screams every time he comes shopping with me and sees the prices here."
