Price increases are here, along with a plethora of creative ways to squeeze more money from your already tight wallet. VAT has increased by one percent, and if a product is supposed to increase by, say, just 65 agorot, it's a great opportunity to make some extra profit. Somehow, the price always gets rounded up. In the best case, you'll pay an extra shekel, and in the worst case, you'll suddenly find yourself adding another NIS 2, all under the guise of that percentage we were burdened with due to the war.
We all know that no one will supervise to ensure VAT isn't being abused, just like there's no oversight on price labeling, which is another means of confusion and exploitation of consumers, and a way to squeeze more money into the cash register.
It’s likely that soon we’ll face another wave of price hikes, incorporating not only that extra one percent but also increases in electricity, water, property tax, and don’t forget fuel. Who will bear this burden if not us?
If all of this sounds frustrating to you, Super-Pharm took it to the extreme today.
The company started charging customers who placed orders for self-pickup, those who intend to walk to the store and pick up their deliveries with their own hands, NIS 4.90. In contrast, actual deliveries, ones made by a courier on a scooter or car, start at NIS 19.90. And I ask, for what exactly? For the picking of items inside the store?
When making a delivery, you can understand that it involves hiring dedicated employees who collect the products, arrange them, check out, and send them to the customer’s home, all while consuming fuel or charging an electric battery.
But with self-pickup for orders above NIS 150, where usually the picking process takes longer, Super-Pharm actually waives this annoying fee. Yes, they have the right to do whatever they want, but they don’t have to follow the example of Wolt in May 2023, when they suddenly raised their operational fees by NIS 2 on their orders without a logical explanation. But even Wolt realized that charging this additional fee for self-pickup was excessive, and decided to waive it for those who come to collect their order themselves.
Super-Pharm: "Ongoing Rise in Inputs"What’s next? Charging for shelf arranging, sticker application, or store cleaning? All of these are already included in the final price that the customer pays to the chain. But who knows how far local business owners will take this. When they see a good price increase wave heading their way, they quickly grab the surfboard and ride it all the way to the shore.
Super-Pharm stated, "In light of the ongoing rise in inputs, the cost for self-pickup for online orders under NIS 150 has been updated. Orders for self-pickup above NIS 150 will continue to be delivered at no cost."