Inflation is reflected in smaller grocery purchases

Mothers in the UAE are feeling the pinch of inflation, prompting many to cut down on grocery spending, a study revealed. According to research released yesterday by electronic payments provider Visa, 94 per cent of 160 mothers polled in the UAE have noticed a significant increase in the "overall costs" of groceries. As a result, 38 per cent of the respondents have taken measures to reduce their shopping bills by putting less in their grocery carts. Others, about 24 per cent, have changed the kinds of products they buy and about five per cent have moved their weekly or monthly shopping to other stores. About 95 per cent of the respondents prefer to shop at hypermarkets and five per cent still go to mini groceries. Article continues below Elaine Stannard is a mother of two children, ages one and four, in Dubai. She said all baby items and most staple goods are getting pricier, causing her grocery bills to rise "dramatically". "You will find that when supermarkets have special offers on a few items, others are more expensive to offset the discount," she told Gulf News. With soaring food prices, the country's inflation rate rose to a three-month high of 1.4 per cent on an annual basis in May. With Ramadan fast approaching, UAE retailers have been urged to drop prices by 50 per cent during the fasting month, when food costs usually increase. Looking into the shopping habits of UAE households, Visa also found that that the majority of mothers in the UAE (96 per cent) prefer to do their own grocery shopping rather than rely on household help. Almost half of the mothers surveyed (49 per cent) shop once a week and an overwhelming 80 per cent opt to buy the same groceries every time. Visa's study was conducted among 160 mothers in the UAE to beef up consumer awareness on the company's summer-long debit grocery campaign. "The size and importance of the grocery sector in the GCC prompted us to focus on this sector," noted Maysara Ghadban, Visa's head of marketing communications for Middle East and North Africa.