- Government welcomes report into unit pricing by retailers and
commits to consult on the Price Marking Order, a piece of
retained EU legislation, to make it work for consumers.
- A change in the regulation would mean unit prices would have
to be clearly displayed in promotions, including loyalty card
price per unit.
- Chancellor also backs further work by CMA on 10 day-to-day
products.
Consumers are set to benefit from improved pricing rules as the
Government welcomes recommendations from the Competition and
Markets Authority (CMA) today.
In its report published this morning, the CMA set out
recommendations to improve advertised pricing on products. As
part of its ongoing work to help households with the cost of
living, the Government has committed to consult on the changes
this autumn.
Unit pricing rules enable shoppers to choose the best deals, and
the Chancellor has this morning welcomed the CMA’s work to
enforce these rules, including writing to retailers who are not
complying with current legislation.
The Chancellor has also welcomed the CMA's finding that
competition between supermarkets remains healthy. He has backed
their plans to look further into the supply chains impacting the
pricing of 10 day-to-day products; baby formula, baked beans,
bread, chilled desserts, lemonade, mayonnaise, milk, pet food,
poultry, and ready meals.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, said:
“The cost of the weekly shop is a worry for millions of people.
“It’s reassuring that competition between supermarkets is
working, but the CMA has my backing to look further into price
rises for 10 everyday essentials.
“It remains the case that the best way to help ease the pressure
on families is to get inflation right down. Figures this week
show our plan is working and we need to stay the course, halving
inflation this year and returning it to 2% next.”
The consultation from the Department for Business and Trade will
focus on the Price Marking Order (PMO), a piece of retained EU
legislation (REUL) which sets out how retailers should display
their price information in store. Ministers are set to make the
most of new Brexit freedoms and review the recommendations to
ensure that food prices in store can be compared easily between
shops, meeting recommendations from the CMA.
