French Retailer Carrefour Freezes Prices on 100 ‘Everyday Essentials’

Saying it expanding its efforts to help its customers cope with inflation, French retailer Carrefour has frozen prices on 100 “everyday essential” products through Nov. 30.

The items included in this offer are among the company’s own branded products in both food and non-food categories offered at all of its stores in France, including its convenience stores, supermarkets, hypermarkets, cash-and-carry stores and eCommerce offerings, it said in a Monday (Aug. 22) press release.

“Household budgets continue to be hard-hit by inflation, and that’s why Carrefour is doing everything it can to protect its customers’ purchasing power,” the company said in the release.

This joins several other initiatives that the company has launched this summer, including reducing its own margin on 200 products from national brands and passing along the savings to consumers, freezing the prices on select back-to-school products and offering double-digit discounts to holders of the company’s loyalty cards, per the release.

During the past several months, “consumption patterns proved resilient” despite rising inflation, Carrefour said in a July 27 presentation detailing its earnings for the first half of 2022.

Read more: Belgium Drags Down Carrefour’s European Profit but ‘Consumption Patterns’ Prove Resilient

Nonetheless, the company cited “a slight evolution in consumer purchasing behavior” during the second quarter, especially in European countries where inflation is most pronounced.

Rising costs are impacting both businesses and consumers, and PYMNTS recently wrote that some U.S. retailers are identifying opportunities to provide customers with lower-cost alternatives.

Read more: CPG Brands Lose Sales as EU Consumers Opt for Store-Brand Items

For example, Kroger recently expanded its capacity for Home Chef-branded ready-made meal kits, offering cost-conscious consumers an alternative to more expensive takeout meals.

In addition, Walmart has been touting thousands of Rollbacks — 90-day price cuts on various items at its locations.

Read more: Walmart, Already Marking Down, Won’t Counter Amazon Prime Day

“I know first-hand that back-to-school shopping should be fun and affordable, and Walmart is here to make sure our customers won’t have to choose between what they want and what they need,” Julie Barber, senior vice president, hardlines, Walmart U.S., said in a July 7 blog post.