Making ends meet: Bulk buying is the smart way to beat inflation

South African families, hard hit by the highest inflation in five years, are having to rethink the way they shop in order to make ends meet. Picture: Freepik

South African families, hard hit by the highest inflation in five years, are having to rethink the way they shop in order to make ends meet. Picture: Freepik

Published Jul 1, 2022

Share

As events such as the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict continued to have an effect on the prices of food, fuel and electricity, South African families, hard hit by the highest inflation in five years, are having to rethink the way they shop in order to make ends meet.

One easy way to save money is to buy non-perishable items in bulk at the beginning of the month, says South African retailer Makro.

Here are the top reasons to buy in bulk:

Cost-savings

It’s often cheaper to buy pantry-fillers in bulk because people can save on excessive packaging. Many stores often have major deals for products bought in bulk which can save you money in the long run.

No waste

Buying in bulk means you get exactly what you need for stocking your pantry. At first you, will need to monitor how many items you use in a month. Once you have figured that out, you can calculate the amount needed over a longer period of time.

Save on time

Instead of buying different products from different stores, shop for all your goods under one roof to save money and time.

Gain access to high quality exclusive labels

When bulk buying, people should consider exclusive brands as they can save you a considerable amount of money.

Research conducted by Nielsen HQ shows that, on average, private brands pricing is 27% lower than national brand pricing across items such as maize meal, rice, UHT milk, sunflower oil, tinned pilchards, and dishwashing liquid.

Household items in the private brand category are seeing an uptick in demand but also in other categories such as small appliances and health equipment.

Loyalty programmes

People need to pay close attention to how loyalty or rewards programmes work so they can make the most of them as well as get the best discounts.

IOL Business