MAP: See how your location in France affects online food shop prices

Are you over- or under-paying for your online food shop in France? A new map can tell you exactly where prices are higher or lower than average, and if you are paying more or less than your neighbours.

The ‘comparative’ colour-coded map uses price data collected in the ‘Distriprix’ index by research consultancy a3distrib (part of the consumer insights institute NielsenIQ). Created in collaboration with France 2, it shows how prices charged at supermarket drive-throughs compare to the national market average.

A supermarket drive-through (referred to simply as ‘drive’ in French) are supermarkets through which shoppers can order their goods online, and then drive to the supermarket at a selected time to collect their order. Most supermarkets, including E.Leclerc, Carrefour, Intermarché, and Système U, offer drive options.

The map shows results from analysis of 6,600 drive supermarket locations, each of which has at least 1,000 products available for purchase. The map does not include prices from supermarkets that do not have drive services, meaning that discount stores such as Lidl and Aldi are not represented.

MAP: Distriprix Drive - a3distrib (NielsenIQ) / France 2 / FranceInfo.

Where are prices more expensive?

Unsurprisingly, prices are more expensive in certain areas, including Paris, Nice, and the French Riviera. These areas are shown in dark red on the map.

Prices are also higher in areas that have less competition, with just one brand of supermarket. For example, the Communauté de communes de la Montagne Noire (Aude, Occitanie) has prices that are 29.7% above the national average, with just one supermarket, Carrefour Express, included in analysis for that area.

Nationally, prices are more expensive in the north, south-east, and south of the country, as well as in Paris and other major cities.

Some higher priced areas include:

• Communauté de communes du Pays des Ecrins (Hautes-Alpes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur): 23.4% higher than average

• Métropole du Grand Paris: 11% higher

• Communauté d'agglomération de la Riviera Française (Alpes-Maritimes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur): 10.5% higher

• Communauté de communes de la région d’Audruicq (Pas-de-Calais, Hauts-de-France): 9.2% higher

• Métropole Nice Côte d’Azur: 8.3% higher

• Toulouse Métropole: 8% higher

Where are prices less expensive? 

The lowest prices can be seen in the west, particularly in Brittany. These areas are shown in dark blue on the map.

Some of the lowest areas include:

• Communauté de communes Pays de Châteaugiron Communauté (Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany): 9% lower than average

• Communauté de communes Poher Communauté (Côtes-d'Armor, Finistère): 7.8% lower

• Communauté de communes Montfort Communauté (Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany): 7.6% lower

There are also some surprising ‘low’ spots in other regions, including:

• Communauté de communes du Pays de Neubourg (Eure, Normandy): 7.7% lower

• Communauté de communes du Pays de Lumbres (Pas-de-Calais, Hauts-de-France): 6.5% lower

• Communauté de communes des Trois Rivières (Aisne, Hauts-de-France): 6.2% lower

The lighter the colour, the closer to the market average the area’s prices are (e.g. apricot/salmon-coloured is just slightly higher; light blue is slightly lower).

Why is there such a difference in prices?

Less expensive regions generally benefit from several factors that enable supermarkets to offer lower prices, including the lower cost of land, and supermarkets with lower prices overall.

“These are areas where land remains affordable and which are close to some of the agri-food industries,” said Vincent Cornu, director general of a3distrib, to FranceInfo. “These advantages help to drive prices down.”

The north-west and Brittany have “quite a few Leclerc and Système U stores, two chains that have very aggressive pricing policies”, said retail expert Philippe Goetzmann.

Areas with higher-than-average prices tend to be those with smaller stores, such as Carrefour Market, City, or Intermarché Express. These are more common in urban centres, where property prices also tend to be higher.

These stores stock fewer items, and storage space is at a premium cost. This means that brands have less flexibility on prices, and logistics costs are higher.

Mr Goetzmann also states that supermarkets deliberately “adjust their prices according to their catchment area”, depending on customer profiles, and how much competition there is locally.

The cost of food and grocery items has fluctuated considerably in recent years, with inflation, low competition, energy prices, avian flu all among the factors to affect costs. Negotiations between major French supermarkets and international distributors take place each year, which can also have an impact.

In January last year, food prices that had been pushed up by inflation began to fall, after several years of rising costs. Shoppers can keep an eye on prices, and find the cheapest supermarket near them, by using this price comparison tool, created in 2022 by UFC-Que Choisir, France's independent consumer protection organisation.