Prices at Supermarkets and Grocery Stores in Bangkok. Consumer Price Data.

Price Comparisons at different 'Supermarkets' in Bangkok.

The prices below where paid in July 2009. Possibly we will include more items in the future, and repeat our survey regulary, which would give an indication of inflation in Bangkok and Thailand.

There is lot of choice in supermarkets when doing your grocery shopping in Bangkok. We have the habit of shopping around. There is our 'basic' shopping at Foodland, then there are some items we can only find at other shopping outlets such as Villa Market, Gourmet Market (Siam Paragon and Emporium). We also drop in regularly at Tops (Robinson at Soi 19, Sukhumvit Road) because it is closeby. For the comparison below we also visited Tesco-Lotus at Fortune Town, since it is reputedly 'cheap'.

We compared the prices of some very basic food and toiletry items, which we assumed (wrongly) to be available at all stores we visited. 7-Elevens were not included. Most items in our list where not available at 7-Elevens. Nevertheless, it is easy to notice that prices at 7-Elevens are higher than what you would pay in any supermarket (but they are conveniently located).

Items included : Bega Superlights (processed cheese), 10 slices; Fragata Virgin Olive Oil (500 ml). Scotch-Brite Scrub Sponge (original); can of Singha beer ; Rejoice Complete shampoo (400 ml); Tipco one liter of Tangerine Juice ; Listerine Tartar Control mouthwash 250 cc.; Ritter dark chocolate with hazelnuts ; Gillette Mach 3 razor blades (4).

Tops uses a Tops Spot Reward system. Selected goods are regularly priced lower for members. Therefore there are two rows of data for Tops.
Below are the prices of the items mentioned in the different supermarkets accessible from Sukhumvit Road.
Shopping comparison was done at Foodland Sukhumvit Soi 5, Villar Market Sukhumvit Soi 11, Tops at Robinson (Sukhumvit Soi 19), Gourmet Market at Siam Paragon, Tesco-Lotus at Fortune Town (Ratchapisek Road).

cheapest ; most expensive

Below we created an interesting little table. Negative signs (-) indicate items that are priced lower than the average price (for that item). Positive signs (+) indicate items that are priced higher than the average price for that item. The average taken is the average not including Tops Spot Reward prices.

Tops :                                  - - | + + + + + +      2 to 6
Tops Spot Reward    - - - - - | + + +                5 to 3
Foodland                - - - - - - - | +                       7 to 1
Gourmet Market         - - - - - | + + +                5 to 3
Villa Market                        - - | + + + +             2 to 4
Tesco-Lotus                      - - | + + + + + +      2 to 6

Foodland stands out as the cheapest supermarket for groceries. When using the Tops Spot Reward card you can also do relatively well, while Gourmet Market (surprisingly) does well likewise. Villa Market has more expensive prices. Tesco-Lotus is a real disappointment. While having a reputation as having cheap goods, that is not confirmed by this survey.

However, we have to look further than this. The Tops Spot Reward system lately has been distributing coupons for its members. Whatever you buy when showing your card (or mentioning your telephone number, if you do not have it with you) earns you points. This adds up relatively well, and then you will receive coupons at home you can use for further discounts. For example, if you buy 1000 baht worth of groceries, you may be able to use a coupon worth a discount of 60 baht. Actually, shopping this way, though a bit cumbersome, may be as cheap or cheaper as shopping at Foodland.

Shopping for basic groceries at Gourmet Market looks not too bad. However, if you go there mainly to buy fresh vegetables and fruits or other delicatessen, in our opinion, you pay much more than when shopping for similar goods at Tops or Central Food Hall (Central Chitlom and CentralWorld Plaza). Imported cherries, blueberries, plums, and even green apples, are much cheaper at Tops and Central Food Hall than at the Gourmet Markets (Emporium, Siam Paragon).

We hardly ever go to Tesco-Lotus because we do not like the warehouse like shopping environment. But interestingly, even the prices there for basic groceries are not competitive. Of course, you can still use the store for other goods. It looks like they sell a lot of cheap clothing.

Since we follow prices over time, we show a comparison of average prices in Januari and July 2009. There were rather wild price fluctuation, so we can not safely say something about inflation. Tipco Tangerine juice was heavily discounted in July, which probably distorts the data. There was a new tax on beer, so we suspect the rise in the price of Singha beer is related to this increase in taxation.

Tops Market Place is located in most Central Department and Robinson Department Stores. Here the entrance to Tops Market Place in the basement at Robinson Sukhumvit, soi 19, Sukhumvit Road.