Nearly 2 price hikes for every 1 discount at Coop, report finds

Although supermarkets in Switzerland often boast of the numerous discounts they have on offer, a new analysis has revealed that such cuts usually hide price hikes elsewhere. In the case of Coop, for every one product discount offered in 2025, they have increased the price of nearly two other items.

Do discounts at Swiss supermarkets hide price hikes?

Whether it be Coop, Aldi, Migros, or Denner, supermarkets across Swiss cities and cantons like to keep their customers informed about just how many discounts they are offering. In late June, Coop announced in a statement that it had cut the price of 1.000 different products in 2025 so far. “We take our promise to offer high-quality products at attractive prices seriously…[we are] sending a strong message to customers,” the statement read. 

This caught the eye of the Swiss newspaper Blick, which decided to see whether the price cuts announced by Coop were too good to be true. In most cases, they are.

1.256 discounts and 2.298 price hikes at Coop in 2025

They found that since the beginning of 2025, Coop introduced 1.256 discounts, but also raised prices 2.298 times. This means that for every good-willed discount on a product, the supermarket raised prices on nearly two other items. 

They found that there were significantly more price hikes than cuts for food items like meat, fish and sausages. In fact, price rises outnumber discounts in nearly all categories analysed, including baked goods, fresh food, dairy and eggs, and beauty products. The only areas where discounts outnumbered price rises were for baby and childcare products, and household items.

Coop blames price rises on external factors

In response to the findings, Coop spokesperson Sina Gebel told Blick that while they could not comment on individual prices, they are “fundamentally committed to competitive consumer prices for our customers". "Coop ultimately does not earn more on products whose prices have increased." 

Blick explained that in most cases, Coop is forced to raise prices due to rising prices from suppliers and increased production costs at international companies. For instance, Gebel explained that the “rising cost of raw materials” was the main reason prices rose in early 2025. 

By contrast, Gebel concluded that when Coop discounts a product, it is covering the shortfall with its own money. According to the June statement, Coop has invested 650 million francs in price reductions since 2019.