The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has reviewed the way
a range of grocery retailers displayed their prices in-store to
assess whether they were clear, accurate and matched the price
people were charged at the till.
The review looked at the price marking practices of 139 grocery
stores in England and Wales, including supermarket chains, symbol
convenience stores (small, independent retailers that operate
under a symbol brand name), variety stores and independent food
stores.
The CMA conducted on-site inspections and looked at a sample of
products – such as fresh fruit and vegetables and products on
promotion. During inspections at some stores, the CMA found
examples where the retailer was displaying inaccurate prices or
failed to display prices at all for certain products. Failing to
provide clear and accurate pricing information for products on
sale is a breach of consumer law.
These findings were reinforced by similar work carried out by
some regional and local Trading Standards (TS) across England and
Wales, and previous work by the Society of Chief Officers of
Trading Standards in Scotland (SCOTSS) and Northern Ireland
Trading Standards (TSNI) across their respective nations.
Overall, the majority of issues were found at independent food
stores and symbol convenience stores. The most common types of
issues seen were missing prices, conflicting prices (instances
where prices indicated on products conflicted with those shown on
shelf edge labels) and prices not being displayed sufficiently
close to products.
There were also issues with prices not being clearly legible, the
selling price being obscured, and multibuy promotion labels that
didn't specify the price of the items individually.
The percentage of pricing errors found at each type of store
were:
- Supermarkets: 4.2%
- Symbol convenience stores: 14.4%
- Variety stores: 5.6%
- Independent food stores: 7.8%
Overall, 60% of the errors resulted in a higher price being
charged at the till. Further breakdowns by store type can be
found in the report.
As a result of these findings, the CMA, in conjunction with
Trading Standards, has today published compliance materials
aimed at helping grocery retailers understand what they need to
do to comply with the law. The CMA is also calling on the
relevant trade associations to share these compliance materials
with their members.
George Lusty, Interim Executive Director for Consumer Protection
and Markets at the CMA, said:
We know how frustrating it can be when you get to the till only
to find the price doesn't match what was advertised. While lots
of grocery retailers – particularly supermarkets – are complying
with pricing rules, this needs to consistently be the case across
all types of stores.
It's important that shoppers can make well-informed choices based
on accurate information, especially at a time when lots of people
are looking to save money. That's why we are reminding businesses
of the importance of complying with consumer law.
The full report can be read on our review of price
marking in the groceries sector page.
Notes to editors
- The price marking inspections involved checking whether
grocery stores were complying with their consumer law obligations
as set out in the Price
Marking Order 2004 (PMO) and the Consumer Protection from
Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs).
- This work follows a separate review by the
CMA last year which looked at how grocery retailers are
displaying unit pricing information in-store and online. The
review showed problems with unit pricing which may affect
consumers' ability to compare products and indicated that some
of the problems stemmed from the legislation itself. As a
result, the CMA made recommendations to Government to reform
the PMO, which it has agreed to do.
- Grocery store definitions used by the CMA:
- Symbol convenience stores – small independent
retailers that operate under a symbol brand name.
- Variety stores – large retailers that sell general
merchandise such as hardware, toys, furniture and seasonal
goods alongside a selection of groceries.
- Independent food stores – independent supermarkets and
larger grocery stores.
- The PMO requires traders to display the total selling price
of goods (and, unless exempt, the unit price) in a way that is
unambiguous, easily identifiable, and clearly legible. This
information must be available and given in proximity to the goods
so that consumers do not have to seek it from the trader.
- The CPRs require traders give customers the material
information they need – such as the price of goods - to make an
informed decision. If pricing information is missing, incorrect
or confusing such that it affects whether the consumer would or
would not have bought the goods if they had known the correct
price, a breach of the law is likely to have been committed. The
review of price marking practices was prompted by similar action
taken by the Society of Chief Officers of Trading Standards in
Scotland (SCOTSS) and Northern Ireland Trading Standards (TSNI)
(across their respective nations).
