The Independent Market Supervision and Consumer Protection Authority (ΑΑΕΑ & ΠΚ) has responded to reports questioning the true extent of price reductions on products included in Greece’s national price-cutting initiative, asserting that no branded product company participating in the scheme had filed a price increase declaration during July and August. The authority also dismisses comparisons that, as it states, are based on isolated promotional offers from different retail chains and different time periods, noting that the initiative concerns a fixed reduction of the base shelf price for a minimum of two months.
Price cuts: What the authority says about pre-initiative price hikes
Under the heading “The National Price Reduction Initiative is assessed with data, not fragmentary comparisons,” the ΑΑΕΑ & ΠΚ has entered the debate surrounding the new lower prices and the 1,740 product codes enrolled in the programme.
As it states:
“The National Price Reduction Initiative came into effect on 31 August and covers 1,740 product codes. The impression being created — that prices for certain codes were raised before the Initiative began in order to then appear as reduced — does not reflect Greek market reality. The ΑΑΕΑ & ΠΚ, as the body that receives price increase declarations submitted by businesses, has not received any price increase declaration for July or August from any branded product company participating in the National Price Reduction Initiative. The only price increase declaration submitted during this period concerns a company that is not participating in the Initiative.”
Based on the data available to the authority, there is therefore no evidence of prior price increases by branded product companies enrolled in the programme. The same statement clarifies that the sole relevant declaration submitted during the two-month period under review concerns a business outside the initiative.
The dispute over the “artificial basket”
The authority also takes particular issue with the methodology behind certain price comparisons, arguing that some public reports cherry-pick a limited number of products and then compare prices across different retail chains and different days, without a consistent baseline.
“Beyond this, some public reports select a very small number of products and construct an artificial ‘basket.’ For each product, the same chain, the same price base, and the same time period are not compared. Instead, the lowest price that appeared in any chain on any given day is identified after the fact — even if it was a short-term promotional offer lasting only a few days.”
The ΑΑΕΑ & ΠΚ stresses that there is a fundamental difference between the regular shelf price without any promotion and the lowest temporary offer that may have appeared at some chain in the past.
“In plain terms, the actual shelf price that a consumer sees in a store without any promotion is one thing; the lowest promotional price that can be traced retrospectively across different chains and different days is quite another. The first reflects a genuine market picture. The second creates an artificial ‘basket’ that does not correspond to any real shopping experience.”
Fixed lower prices for at least two months
According to the authority’s announcement, the programme is not structured as a temporary commercial promotion but instead provides for a fixed and committed reduction of the base shelf price for a minimum of two months per product, with some cases extended through to the end of December 2026.
Businesses’ usual short-term promotional offers will continue to apply and, as clarified, will be applied on top of the new base price — allowing consumers to benefit from even lower final prices during limited promotional periods.
The authority also argues that certain comparisons entirely omit product categories showing significant price reductions. These include 100 fresh meat product codes, with an average reduction of 7.5% and a maximum of 28%; 360 private label product codes, with an average reduction of 8% and a maximum of 33%; and 405 school supply items, where the average reduction reaches 12% and the largest recorded cut stands at 36%.
Estimated savings of up to €39 per month for households
The ΑΑΕΑ & ΠΚ states that it is monitoring the programme’s implementation on a daily basis and will continue its checks throughout its entire duration, noting that actual shelf prices observed to date confirm the figures it has published.
Particular reference is also made to the potential financial benefit for households. Based on monthly sales volumes of the products enrolled in the programme, the authority estimates that savings from this specific basket could average €39 per month per household.
The announcement essentially serves as a response to the public debate over whether the new lower prices represent genuine relief for consumers or are the result of comparisons with preceding price increases. The authority’s position is unequivocal: no price increase declaration was recorded among participating branded product companies during the preceding two-month period, and the evaluation of the measure, it emphasises, must be conducted using a consistent basis of comparison and actual shelf prices.
