A mum has left people flabbergasted after sharing a look at the difference in price between several popular food items from a supermarket in the UK and one in the US
Food prices have fallen for the first time in more than two years, but we all know the weekly shop still adds up. However, if you think your grocery bill is astronomical, then you might want to keep on reading, as one mum’s story might make you feel a little bit better about things.
The mum, named Abigael Lanai, who is originally from Colorado in the US but is currently living in London, has gone viral on social media after comparing prices of food from her weekly shop at Sainsbury’s to the price of the same items from King Soopers, a store she used to visit in America.
Abigael said: “You’re gonna be shocked when I show you the difference in grocery prices between England and the US. Before I start, just for context I’m going to be comparing Sainsbury’s here in England, which is a grocery store that I go to, to the grocery store that I shopped at in Colorado called King Soopers, literally down to the location. This might vary depending on where you’re located in the US or what store you’re shopping at, but just for comparison, here we go…”
She went on to start by comparing the price of whole milk, showing that four pints of this from Sainsbury’s cost £1.65 at the time of her filming. The mum then showed how she converted the price from pounds online to show that if they were the same price, milk from the US would cost $1.99. However, from King Soopers in Colorado, an equivalent half gallon of whole milk costs $2.49.
“So that’s 50 cents or 40p more in the US for the exact same item,” Abigael explained before moving on to show the cost of a single Royal Gala Apples. These were just 25p each in Sainsbury’s but priced at 67 cents for a small apple or 95 cents for a large one from King Soopers. “It depends on size, but 67 cents is double what it would be here in England and 95 is triple,” she adds.
Shoppers then got to see a price comparison for 500g worth of beef mince which cost £1.99 here, but $5.49 in the US for the same amount of ground beef. “It’s not even close,” states Abigael. Her final item is a 1kg bag of carrots, which Sainsbury’s is selling for 50p. “You would expect that to be 60 cents in the US if the prices were the same,” she explains. “And wouldn’t you know it, they’re absolutely not. So one kilo is equal to 2.2lbs, so this is just barely under a kilo but it’s the closest I could get and it’s $1.99. That’s $1.39 or £1.15 more in the US for the same product.”
The video quickly caused a stir online, garnering thousands of likes and comments, with many sharing their thoughts. One person wrote: “I’m blown away by how expensive the US prices were compared to the UK! Had no idea US was so much more expensive.” While another said: “America is so expensive. How are apples so affordable in England?! I usually pay $5-6 for four apples not organic at Walmart. Ridiculous.”
Someone else pointed out that the American prices would likely get even higher at the till as they didn’t “include tax”. While a few proclaimed that you had to take into account “the fact that the average wage in the UK is much lower than in the US so UK being cheap in comparison isn’t always accurate.”
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