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Columbus Mabika and Nesia Mhaka
Prices of basic commodities have remained stable, while for some items they have dropped slightly after the festive season, as retailers aim to maximise sales during the back to school week. A snap survey by The Herald in major retail outlets in Harare showed shoppers taking advantage of the stable and slashed prices by buying in large quantities.
Talkmore Takawira, a shopper at Pick n Pay Sam Nujoma Street, said the stability of the prices had given consumers a chance to make reasonable preparations for schools opening.
“We are taking advantage of promotions and special offers” he said. “For example, the Mama’s peanut butter brand was $49,99, but is now at $35,99. The prices of books and other school-related groceries have remained unchanged, making our preparations easier.”
Another shopper, Tichaona Chiguta, who was doing his shopping at Ok First Street, said he was relieved that prices did not go up after the festive season.
“At least we can buy something for our kids going back to school,” he said. “The prices have largely remained unchanged from those of the Christmas period.”
Prices have also remained unchanged in the transport sector as fares charged during the festive season are still prevailing.
Most shoppers are tending to follow prices rather than brands to ensure they get the best gains.
In the informal sector, sales appear limited to what people can withdraw from banks as only a few customers are willing to pay the premiums demanded by traders for mobile money or swipe transactions.
Uniforms
Mr Kundai Manyawi, who commutes daily from Chitungwiza to Harare, said kombi fares had remained unchanged at $15 per trip.
“Commuter omnibus operators haven’t hiked their fares,” he said. “They know that if they do so, commuters will resort to the ZUPCO buses, which are much cheaper.”
Fears that prices would rise in the peak festive season have proved baseless as retailers and manufacturers continue to push for cash flow and market share by keeping most prices stable.
The survey showed supermarket shelves were adequately stocked, with most basic goods available, rubbishing predictions from some sections of society that there would be shortages.
In the run-up to the festive season, Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers (CZR) president Mr Denford Mutashu said the retail business had fought the tendency by some to profiteer by ensuring there were adequate deliveries to last the festive season.
“We have improved the supply of basic commodities and most shops are fully stocked,” he said. “Many players have taken what is on the market to stock their shops so that they do not run out of stock, which has resulted in the stabilisation of prices in most supermarkets.”
Mr Mutashu said CZR was engaging uniform retailers ahead of schools opening.
“We are also trying to engage uniform retailers to stabilise their prices as we enter the back-to-school time,” he said.
“We encourage our retailers to continue stabilising the prices so that the consumers can do their shopping with ease.”
Online Reporter