The cost of your food shopping could go up when demand is high

The Bank of England has warned that supermarkets across the UK could bring in surge pricing to extract more profit from people’s need to eat.

Supermarkets may be planning to increase the amount shoppers pay for food when demand is high, which is already the situation for people using corporations like Amazon and Uber.

Computerised displays could pave the way for price hikes in supermarkets like Morrisons, which will soon have these price labels in all 497 of its stores.

Speaking of the possibility of ‘surge pricing’, Clive Black, of investment bank Shore Capital, told the Times:

Whether that is in the interest of shoppers or shareholders is a moot point.

The thing is, people buying food aren’t really shoppers. That’s like saying people buying electricity or water are ‘shopping’, when these are essentials.

Supermarkets prioritise excessive profit

‘Greedflation’ has already defined the cost of living crisis with companies using energy inflation and tax rises as cover for huge profits.

Lidl’s operating profit rose by nearly 300% — from £79 million in 2021 to £314 million in 2025.

Similarly, Aldi’s operating profit rose from £289 million in 2020 to £435 million in 2025, representing a 51% increase over five years (including the Covid years).

This isn’t down to people switching to cheaper options. Tesco’s operating profit leapt 72% — from £1.8 billion in 2020/21 to £3.1 billion in 2024/25. Sainsbury’s operating profit has risen slightly over the same period.

It’s greedflation, and now supermarkets want more through increased prices during high demand despite most people working during the same time periods, meaning they will be buying food at similar times.

What’s the solution?

There is a solution to the wealth extraction. Supermarkets should be not-for-profit because they are only middle-manning between the agriculture sector and humans who need food. One option is for non-profit food distribution centres (but with a fun name) to offer food largely delivered via automated vans.

That’s a major way an administration could tackle the cost of living crisis.

Featured image via Unsplash