Due to Unimarkt bankruptcy

Inflation: SPÖ fears a new price shock

In no other country have prices risen as much as in Germany(Bild: Brenek Malena)

The government has set itself the goal of pushing inflation below two percent by 2026. To achieve this, measures are needed above all for food prices. The SPÖ is once again putting pressure on the government. "The situation on the market shows that we need a joint effort from everyone - politics and business," appeals party leader Philip Kucher.

The last government failed to combat inflation. The result was record inflation, record spending and a record deficit. For the SPÖ, the primary goal of the government is to push inflation back below two percent. "If the measures taken by the government so far are not enough, we will take action," said Kucher.

The figures on inflation

The Momentum Institute has analyzed the inflation figures in detail:

• According to this, Austria had the highest inflation in Western Europe for 18 months in a row.
• Annual inflation in 2023 was 7.8 percent, four times higher than the ECB target.
• For the first time in the Second Republic, prosperity in Austria (GDP/capita) has fallen.
• On average, food prices (food and non-alcoholic beverages) rose by over 30 percent between 2019 and 2024.
• Collectively agreed wages rose by only 25 percent in the same period.
• Inflation in September 2025 was four percent. This puts Austria in the bottom third of the EU.
• In no other Western European country are prices rising as fast as here.

New price shock due to Unimarkt bankruptcy?
The SPÖ fears that the bankruptcy of Unimarkt could have further disadvantages for consumers. If the 90 or so stores are sold to the competition, this would mean even less competition on the market. Competition would decrease and prices would continue to rise. "This would increase the market power of Billa and Spar to over 71 percent," says the SPÖ.

According to calculations by the Momentum Institute, the profit situation for Spar and Billa in 2024 is 60 percent higher than in the pre-corona years and 50 percent higher than the median profit of the last 10 years.

Retailers complain about low profit margins
Retailers, for their part, repeatedly point to the low profit margins of supermarket chains. The average margin, i.e. the profit in food retail, is one percent of turnover. Two thirds of the shelf price would depend on purchase prices, over 13 percent would be accounted for by personnel costs, ten percent by logistics and energy costs and 9.1 percent by VAT.