Amazon’s prices were found to be 13% cheaper than Argos, Asda, and Currys, with the price gap increasing in 10 of the 13 categories studied.
Global eCommerce analytics company Profitero today announced the results of its second annual U.K. Price Wars study. The study analysed prices of more than 5,000 products across 13 categories from four leading online retailers, including Amazon, Argos, Asda, and Currys.
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“The 2021 Christmas season could be the most expensive of all time. Shoppers will start looking for deals early in order to spread the overall cost and make sure they don’t miss out on key items — otherwise they risk paying over the odds for gifts this year.”
For the second consecutive year, Amazon was found to be the cheapest online retailer, beating every competitor examined across all categories. Amazon is in a strong position ahead of the Christmas shopping season, with prices that were, on average, 13% less expensive than competitors, including lower prices in key categories like electronics, toys and games, and video games.
“We found online prices are up more than 5% since last year as global supply chain problems and labour shortages continue to affect the costs of goods and services,” said Mark Wilkinson, Managing Director of EMEA & APAC at Profitero. “The 2021 Christmas season could be the most expensive of all time. Shoppers will start looking for deals early in order to spread the overall cost and make sure they don’t miss out on key items — otherwise they risk paying over the odds for gifts this year.”
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Other key findings of the report:
- Amazon’s price advantage widens: The price gap between Amazon and its top competitors increased in 10 of the 13 categories studied compared to results from the 2020 Price Wars study. With the exception of fashion and home furniture, Amazon’s prices were lower in all categories by double digits. The retailer was strongest in beauty products and health and personal care items, with prices for both found to be 20% less expensive than competitors.
- Argos and Asda lose ground: Prices at Asda were 16% higher than Amazon, an increase of 1 percentage point from 2020. The retailer made impressive improvements for household supplies, dropping 13 percentage points from last year, however prices were still 10% higher than Amazon. Those improvements were also offset by an increase of 10 percentage points for office equipment and supplies, which jumped from being within 3% of Amazon in 2020 to 13% in 2021. Meanwhile, Argos saw its price gap with Amazon widen by 2 percentage points, increasing to 14% from last year. The retailer fared well for fashion and home furniture, with prices within 7% of Amazon, however this was still a percentage point higher in both categories compared to last year.
- Currys remains steady: Currys was the only retailer that didn’t see its overall price gap with Amazon increase compared to 2020. While it may be the retailer that is most competitive with Amazon, prices at Currys were still, on average, 10% more expensive. The retailer’s most competitive categories were appliances and video games, with both categories having prices within 7% of Amazon.