Investigation Find Supermarkets Misleading Pricing Tactics

A year-long investigation by Which? has found that many supermarket multibuy deals that promise savings on items such as pizzas, yoghurts, crisps and baby goods can leave shoppers worse off.

Around one in 10 products on supermarket shelves increased in price when they went from the previous standard price to the new multibuy price, then decreased again when the promotion ended.

In the worst cases, Which? found that supermarkets doubled the shelf price of an item when they began promoting it as a money-saving multibuy. It found that Asda was selling a Goodfella's Deep Pan Pepperoni pizza at a standard price of about £1, but when it went on to a multibuy deal, the price jumped to £2.50 for one or £4.50 for two.

Which? also found that some products were almost permanently on discount or multibuy. It cited a Nestlé yoghurt, Munch Bunch, which was typically on sale for £1 for a pack of four at Tesco and Sainsbury's. But when it went on multibuy, the price was £2 for two packs, or £1.40 to £1.59 for one pack. "So whenever you buy, the product nearly always costs £1," said Which?.

Multibuy deals have become a staple of supermarket promotions in recent years, and now apply to nearly half the goods on offer in a supermarket at any one time. Which? said that of the 115 products that it examined in the first half of this year, 46% of the time they were on multibuy, compared with 35% of the time in the first half of 2011. But there are signs that consumers have become increasingly disillusioned by the value on offer in supermarket promotions. Seven out of 10 people told Which? that they prefer straightforward discounts to multibuy offers.

Which? said existing rules were supposed to make sure that supermarket special offers did not mislead shoppers, but it felt they left too many loopholes and would call for the government to improve consumer protection.

(H)