Items dropping out of digital basket ‘worrying’

The continuous reduction of the number of items included on e-kalathi digital platform, informing buyers of prices and availability of basic products, is a cause for concern, the consumers’ association said on Monday.

Analysing data for October 2025, the association said common products in large supermarkets were dropping out of the digital basket.

It added, however, that prices of basic products were lower, which could be the result of the competition caused by the launch of the platform.

The analysis is based on 478 product codes available for comparison in e-kalathi. On October 31, just 200 of these products were found to be available in Alphamega, Athienitis and Skavenitis supermarkets.

The three supermarkets were selected because they had the most products in common and recorded a stable participation in e-kalathi.

If more supermarkets are added, the number of products in common drastically drops to 76 out of the 478 items monitored.

According to the analysis, the total cost of the 200 products in common was €823.92 in Sklavenitis, €836.45 in Athienitis and €873.91 in Alphamega.

Sklavenitis remained the cheapest in dairy products, fresh milk, non-alcoholic beverages, personal hygiene, cereals and bread, while Alphamega was the most expensive of the three.

The analysis did indicate, however, that the difference in prices was smaller in October 2025 compared to other months, namely 13 per cent in July, 11.7 per cent in August, 9.3 per cent in September and 6 per cent in October.

A table included in the consumer association’s analysis furthermore shows that in October the total number of products had noticeably dropped.

Out of the 478 products in e-kalathi, Sklavenitis had 461, Ioannides 433, Metro 412, Athienitis 399 and Alphamega 371. Lidl and Pop Life had the lowest participation with 117 and 170 products respectively.

The association said this drop was continuous, with products dropping out of the digital platform every month.

Products in common were also fewer. In July there were 267, August 260, September 234 and October 200. The association pointed out that this drop made it more difficult to compare prices.

President of the consumers’ association Marios Droushiotis said regular monitoring of the market contributed to the protection of consumers and enhancing market transparency.