Supermarket ‘unit pricing’ fails to add up for shoppers

SUPERMARKETS have come under fire for complicated pricing structures which make it difficult for shoppers to pinpoint the best bargains.

Consumer watchdog Which? carried out an investigation into supermarkets in five areas across the UK, including Glasgow, to compare the prices of loose and packaged fruit and veg.

But researchers found that unit prices were often not shown for multi-buys or promotions, and different units were used for packs of the same product – some per 100g and some per kilo.

Among the products checked by Which? were packs of red onions which were priced per item, compared with loose red onions priced per 100g, as well as 500g packs of red peppers on sale for £2.09 next to packs of three mixed peppers priced at £1.65, or 56p each.

In a survey of more than 1,000 shoppers, Which? also found that two-thirds of people have tried to compare the prices of loose and packaged products – but only around half of people think it is easy to work out which product is better value for money this way, with many confused by how unit prices are displayed.

“Unit prices should be a useful tool for people to compare food prices and choose the best-value product, which is crucial when we’re all looking to save money,” said Which? executive director Richard Lloyd.

“But we’ve found unclear and inconsistent use of unit prices across all the major supermarkets.”

He added: “We want to see retailers and the government make urgent improvements so that consumers can compare like for like in the supermarket. We’ll be investigating this issue further over the coming months, and we’re asking the public to help us name and shame the worst offenders.”

Retailers are required by law to display both a selling price and a “unit price” – the units required are set out in legislation and include per kilogram, 100g, 10g, litre, 100ml or individual item – on the shelf labels of food and drinks. The legislation states that pricing needs to be “unambiguous, easily identifiable and clearly legible”.

However, unit prices for fruit and veg can be per item or per weight, which can be confusing when shoppers try to compare the price of packaged items with that of loose ones.

And Which? discovered that in some supermarkets unit prices were not shown at all. It is believed that this is because the law is sometimes not being implemented properly. In other cases, it is thought the law is confusing for retailers.

Leigh Sparks, professor of retail studies at Stirling University, said: “Some retailers have a legal requirement to have a price per kilogram on display. Whether the implementation in stores is always as it should be is a different matter.”

He added: “If you are comparing individual products with those that are sold in a pack and they are not priced in the same way, I can see how that is very confusing for customers.”

Which? is calling for unit prices to be shown on all multi-buys and promotional packs as well as loose products, and also wants the price per unit to be prominent and easy to read.