MONEY is something which people need to fulfill their needs. Without it, survival becomes very difficult, resulting in some people resorting to other means to get money. Like other things affecting a person, money is something that causes all kinds of problems for people daily. But there are ways to save money if you have it and one way is by engaging in comparative shopping. Today we look at what
comparative shopping is all about and give you some tips on how it is possible.
IT is hardly practiced by many people.
But those who do engage in comparative shopping end up saving a few dollars for other needs.
Comparative shopping has been described by the Consumer Council of Fiji as visiting few shops to see the price and quality of products you are looking for.
While some people are often seen doing this, especially when out buying groceries, it is not practiced by many people for various reasons.
In the end it is all about money, which is the most important thing for a person's survival now after the barter system decades ago, and how much you save.
Consumer Council chief executive officer Premila Kumar said consumers have to look for the standard weight and cheapest price of the product they want to buy at other shops before buying at a particular shop.
"There are a number of reasons why people don't do this in some places and one is they don't have their own transport so they just look at the nearest place they can buy from," she said.
"In towns and cities, there are generally more than one shop where people can go around to but sometimes people are lazy.
"For example, items like washing powder and toilet paper which are used daily in the households and some food items that don't go bad can be bought more when there is a sale at some shops.
"But at the same time, people also have to check the expiry date of food products they buy on sale so that they know how long it can be kept."
Mrs Kumar said there are also situations when consumers get enticed by the catchy phrases in advertisements.
"Shops use gimmicks like price slashed, closing down sale and other things but you never see the shops close.
"We have come across situations where consumers get carried away by advertisements like a dollar deposit and they end up paying more than the actual price of that particular product.
"Consumers have to focus only on the money they have and what they have to buy, and the cheapest price they can buy that quality product for."
Mrs Kumar said it was important for people to save money for their other needs and one way of doing it was through comparative shopping.
It is something noticed in urban centres of the Western and Northern Divisions because shops are close by, with some next to each other, thus enabling people to compare the prices before buying.
Whatever the reason may be for others not engaging in comparative shopping, the only thing that should be realised is that they could be spending more of that much needed money.