Living in Portugal — Supermarkets

I’ve been in Portugal for more than a year now, it’s time to share some simple life experiences in Portugal… For every immigrant or traveller to Portugal, contacting the local supermarkets and grocery shops can be the best starting point to understand the Portuguese culture and living habits. The author can always learn a bunch of Portuguese words and phrases…

There are four supermarkets near the author’s home. The nearest one is only about 5 minutes away, and the other two larger supermarkets can be reached in 10 minutes occasionally, I would use an electric scooter, which only takes 4–5 minutes…

Which supermarket is better depends very much on which supermarket is closest to where you live or work… The amount of stock and cleanliness of each supermarket will also directly affect your desire to visit… There may also be specific Southeast Asian foods or specialities that will attract you to visit…

Backgrounds

The average net disposable income per household in Portugal is €18,287 per year / €1,500 per month, below the OECD average. Rents have risen geometrically in recent years, with a one-bedroom flat in the Lisbon area now likely to cost €700–900. The amount of money that can be spent at the supermarket each month has been squeezed, and with the war in Russia and Ukraine, the standard of living of the average Portuguese has dropped, and even the Portuguese middle class are struggling to make ends meet…

The concentration of the urban population in the major cities greatly affects the distribution of supermarkets and the variety of goods they can offer… The selection of supermarkets in major cities differs from that of local towns…

This article will focus on Pingo Doce, Lidi

What are the big supermarkets in Portugal?

Generally speaking, most supermarkets are very typical and will carry food and general household items. However, in larger towns and cities, you will find some ‘hypermarkets’. They usually stock everything from toys to garden furniture, as well as a huge variety of groceries. These are the closest thing to a one-stop shop and are what most people would call a hypermarket.

Opening hours.

Most supermarkets in Portugal operate daily between 8am and 10pm. Some open or close earlier or later depending on their location. The good news is that most are closed at lunchtime and on weekends!

Although different brands of supermarkets have different positioning and prices, there are a few things to keep in mind.

1. The price difference between local brands and imported brands can be more than 20–40%… If you buy Portuguese food and supplies, it will be much cheaper, but most of the Portuguese products are basics…
2. Many products are subject to long-term price reductions, which can range from 20 to 50% over a long period of time.
3. Fruits and vegetables from Portugal are very cheap and tasty, with a very high CP value….
4. The quality, choice and availability of fish and seafood in Portugal is also quite good…
5. Portuguese red and white wines are very cheap…there are plenty of choices in supermarkets from 2–5 eur, which is probably cheaper than buying a Coke as a daily wine…
6. Apply for a supermarket membership card and buy at the member price, often there will be discounts or vouchers that you can save for your next purchase…
7. Pingo Doce, Auchan , Continente will often have price reductions of 20–40% on goods…
8. Lidi, Aidi and other low-cost supermarkets, the daily price is already cheap, and there are not many chances to encounter a big price reduction….
9. Early this year, more than 40 kinds of daily food products were exempted from VAT tax until the end of 2023 to cope with the inflation brought about by the war between Ukraine and Russia. I wonder if this will continue next year….
10. Major supermarkets have fully supported e-payment, but many locals still use cash to pay…
11. When you are queuing up to pay, you will often come across the cashier chatting with an elderly person for a few minutes, so if you are in a hurry, you will really feel anxious XD
12. Supermarkets also offer free or paid delivery for purchases over a certain amount, but the delivery process often misses orders or makes mistakes, so it is not recommended to use the delivery service if you are new to Portugal…

The main supermarkets featured today are Pingo Doce and Lidl, which also carry a wide range of products including fresh produce, meat and dairy products. They also offer a wide range of packaged food, household goods and other products.

Pingo Doce is the largest supermarket chain in Portugal, operating since 1980, with over 400 shops nationwide.

For those who are interested in the leaflet, please see the following page.

Lidi leaflet:

Portugal’s price index should be considered cheap in the European region, but compared to a year ago when I first arrived, due to the war, there is a sense of inflation in all kinds of food… the price stays the same and the portions/pieces are reduced… the only thing you can do is to reduce the price is to buy a little bit more, or to look for a substitute…

Most of my daily food purchases come from different supermarkets, the price/freshness may not be as good as the local grocery shops or markets in Portugal, but shopping in supermarkets is relatively convenient, and you can buy all your daily necessities in one go. As supermarkets also use e-payment, 99% of the purchases in the past year have been made with a Wise Debit card, and the only thing that I need to do is to use cash for my children’s school fees…

Due to the relatively low wages in Portugal, the amount of money available for shopping has become less and less. To be honest, the author also thinks that the amount of money spent on supermarkets by the locals is not enough to cover their daily needs… Many of the high inflation brought by the wars in Portugal have become too much… Therefore, the supermarkets provide relatively less types of high quality ingredients or foreign food… But of course, there should be no problem with the basic daily cooking needs… Of course, you can also go to El Corte Ingles, a large Spanish department store in Lisbon. But of course you should have no problem with basic cooking… Of course you can also go to El Corte Inglés, a large Spanish department store in Lisbon, which has a larger selection of food from different countries, but of course the prices will be about 10–30% higher! …

If you think this article helps you to know more about life in Portugal, why don’t you give me a pat on the back and let me know, so I can get more attention for my articles and increase my income a little bit….

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