As the Easter holiday approaches, Czech shoppers continue to find value for money across the border. Biedronka, a supermarket in Křižanovice, Poland, is a testament to this trend, with more Czech cars parked outside than Polish on a recent Tuesday evening. The main attraction? An Easter promotion is offering a “2+1” deal on eggs.
Pavel Solař and his wife, from Opavska, are among the many Czech shoppers who prefer to avoid the weekend rush and shop during the week instead. Their goal is to stock up on eggs for the upcoming holiday. The store’s current promotion applies to all types of eggs; shoppers who buy three packs get one free. The same offer extends to various baking necessities such as butter and flour, and there are also special deals on candies – all in high demand in the run-up to Easter.
However, getting the best deals requires a bit of work. Hana Solařová, Pavel’s wife, points out that to benefit from the discounts, one needs to have a loyalty card. This isn’t an easy process; it requires phone authorization, but Czech-language guides are available online to help.
Despite the rising exchange rate for the Polish zloty and higher inflation in Poland, shopping there still proves cost-effective for some items. Butter, potatoes, and cigarettes are still significantly cheaper in Poland than in the Czech Republic. Milena, another Czech customer from nearby Bohumín, says she and her husband save at least a thousand crowns each month on groceries, even with the current worse exchange rate, and another thousand crowns on cigarettes, which are up to 40 crowns cheaper per pack in Poland.
However, shopping in Poland will reportedly become a bit less attractive from April 1st. The Polish Ministry of Finance announced last week that it will not extend the temporarily implemented zero VAT rate, which means food prices will increase by five percent. Zero tax was introduced as a compensation measure during the COVID-19 pandemic due to the sharp increase in inflation.