A ‘buy five, get one free’ deal that costs 105% more per litre, a larger pack of coffee with a 44% higher price per kilo and a multipack of pasta that costs more than four individual packs. These examples show that special offers and larger quantities do not always mean a better-value purchase.
Using the digital PosoKanei platform to compare prices per kilo, litre or unit highlights differences that are not always apparent from the price on the pack. The platform also allows users to track price movements over the past two months.
The first comparison is of a multipack of soft drink labelled ‘buy five, get one free’. It contains six 330ml cans and costs €3.25, or €1.64 per litre.
Offers that cost more
A 1.5-litre bottle of the same soft drink costs €1.20, or €0.80 per litre. The multipack is therefore about 105% more expensive per litre, despite including one free can.
A similar picture emerges from a comparison of two packs of Greek coffee. The 194-gram pack costs €3.09, or €15.93 per kilo. The 340-gram pack costs €7.80, or €22.94 per kilo.
The larger pack is therefore about 44% more expensive per kilo than the smaller one.
More expensive multipacks
A 500-gram pack of spaghetti costs €0.69. Four individual packs cost €2.76 in total, while a multipack of four costs €3.07.
For the same quantity of the same product, the multipack costs 31 cents more, or about 11.2% more than buying the four packs separately.