Styrian Chamber of Labour confirms: VAT reduction is reaching consumers

Significant price differences by product type

Prices still differ considerably depending on the product category. A basket filled exclusively with private-label products cost 23.13 euros. If only branded products were purchased, the price stood at 40.96 euros; for organic products, costs came to 51.64 euros. The ranges were particularly wide for individual products: for apples or frozen peas, differences of up to 300 percent were observed depending on private label, branded product, or organic. The survey recorded an outlier in the case of full-cream milk chocolate, where price differences of up to 668 percent were measured.

At the same time, the Chamber of Labour emphasises the fundamental importance of food expenditure for households. According to Büdenbender, every household in the federal state pays 472 euros per month for food and beverages. Extrapolated to all households in Styria, this results in total expenditure of around 2.7 billion euros.

Political reactions from the SPÖ

Politically, the SPÖ sees the study as confirming its position. The tax cut was "durchgesetzt" in government, the party's federal executive director Klaus Seltenheim said in a statement. The Chamber of Labour's survey provides proof that the relief is actually reaching people.

According to the Chamber of Labour, the reduction is visible not only in the average figures but also within the individual product categories. "Spezifische Warenkörbe für ‚Billigprodukte‘, ‚Markenprodukte‘ und ‚Bioprodukte‘ entwickelten sich sehr unterschiedlich," it said. The differences between product types therefore remain large — but overall, shopping in July was cheaper than in spring.

Survey conducted at five supermarkets

The survey was carried out at branches of major domestic retail chains, including Billa Plus, Spar, Hofer, Lidl, and Penny. The Styrian Chamber of Labour evaluated the prices in the respective product categories separately for private-label, branded, and organic products and compared them with the figures from April 2026.

Overall, in the view of the Chamber of Labour, the survey delivers a clear picture: the reduction of VAT on staple foods has largely been passed on to consumers in Styrian food retail. For Büdenbender, the result is evidence that competition in the Austrian food retail sector works and that price advantages actually reach households.