EveryPlateIconChevronRightSmallFood DeliveryIconChevronRightSmallSurprising Grocery Shopping Costs

The Hidden Costs To Grocery Shopping

Grocery shopping is becoming increasingly more expensive for supermarket shoppers, with recent analysis identifying the rising cost of petrol as a key contributing factor.
Grocery shopping is becoming increasingly more expensive for supermarket shoppers, with recent analysis identifying the rising cost of petrol as a key contributing factor.

In 2021 the cost of automotive fuel increased by 33%

New data published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics reveals that the cost of petrol has reached record levels, with the average price of unleaded petrol in the final quarter of 2021 at $1.64 per litre.
<h2>How do rising fuel prices affect our grocery spending?</h2>

How do rising fuel prices affect our grocery spending?

We found that Toowoomba and Bendigo have the largest average distances to a supermarket for Australia’s 21 largest cities (2159m and 2154m, respectively). Based on current petrol prices, if residents from these two cities drove to the supermarket every week rather than using a delivery service, they would be adding $41 in petrol cost to their annual grocery spend. Not to mention the cost of tolls, parking, and car maintenance (as well as the stress of city traffic!).

How is your location secretly affecting your spending? Check the full breakdown below.

Annual cost of driving to the supermarket for Australia’s 21 largest cities, ranked by cost:

City Average Distance to supermarket (km) Annual distance driven to/from supermarket per year, assuming one journey per week (km) Annual petrol consumption of driving to/from supermarket (litre) Annual petrol cost of driving to/from supermarket (dollars)
Toowoomba 2.159 224.54 24.92 40.87
Bendigo 2.154 224.02 24.87 40.78
Townsville 1.919 199.58 22.15 36.33
Hobart 1.819 189.18 21.00 34.44
Mackay 1.661 172.74 19.17 31.45
Albury-Wodonga 1.648 171.39 19.02 31.20
Newcastle 1.628 169.31 18.79 30.82
Gold Coast 1.601 166.50 18.48 30.31
Cairns 1.578 164.11 18.22 29.87
Wollongong 1.526 158.70 17.62 28.89
Ballarat 1.47 152.88 16.97 27.83
Sunshine Coast 1.456 151.42 16.81 27.57
Darwin 1.419 147.58 16.38 26.86
Brisbane 1.403 145.91 16.20 26.56
Geelong 1.39 144.56 16.05 26.32
Perth 1.279 133.02 14.76 24.21
Adelaide 1.216 126.46 14.04 23.02
Melbourne 1.173 121.99 13.54 22.21
Sydney 1.164 121.06 13.44 22.04
Canberra 1.058 110.03 12.21 20.03
Launceston 1.039 108.06 11.99 19.67
<h2>How to grocery shop on a budget</h2>

How to grocery shop on a budget

With daily unleaded petrol prices hitting a record high, Australians are now set to face bigger bills than ever - before they even reach the supermarket cash register! Supermarket grocery shopping has already proven to catch out consumers with additional costs.According to our recent survey of 1,000 supermarket shoppers, 54% succumbed to impulse buys, whilst 38% also went over their food budget by buying more groceries than needed.

With so many additional costs associated with the everyday grocery run, Australians are turning to meal kit delivery services to avoid extra spending and shop savvier each week. We’re proud to say that our meal kits cost less compared to other meal delivery services, thanks to minimal packaging and a focus on only including the ingredients you really need for fuss-free mealtimes.

For a variety of great-value dishes you can cook from home (without the added travel expenses), just head to our Weekly Menu.