Do food labels leave you baffled? Supermarkets are accused of confusing bargain hunters by making it difficult to find the cheapest deals
- Cheap deals harder to find because labels don’t use a standard unit of weight
- Supermarkets accused of using confusing labels depriving customers of deals
- Tesco sold 17 sizes of Coca-cola with prices between 11p and 50p per 100ml
Supermarkets have been accused of making it difficult to find the cheapest deals by using confusing labels.
Experts at Which? said stores are keeping customers in the dark by failing to consistently label the price of products according to a standard unit of weight.
Its research found that some versions of the same product can cost up to three and a half times more (346 per cent) per unit at the same supermarket without making this clear.
Which? tracked the prices of ten popular groceries including Coca-Cola, own-label semi-skimmed milk, Dairy Milk chocolate, Nescafe instant coffee and Weetabix at the ‘Big Four’ supermarkets – Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons.
Which? tracked the price per 100ml of popular groceries including Coca-Cola and Morrisons’ own-label semi-skimmed milk
Experts at Which? said stores are keeping customers in the dark by failing to consistently label the price of products according to a standard unit of weight
Up to 17 different-sized versions of Coca-Cola were available with prices varying between 11p and 50p per 100ml at Tesco
They found that up to 17 different-sized versions of Coca-Cola were available with prices varying between 11p and 50p per 100ml at Tesco.
That’s 346 per cent more for a shopper who buys four 250ml glass bottles (£5) than one who picks up a 1.5 litre bottle instead (£1.68).
Which? also found that the price per 100ml of own-brand semi-skimmed milk varied between 6p and 13p at Morrisons – that’s 133 per cent more for a shopper choosing a 500ml bottle (65p) than one picking a 2.27-litre one (£1.27).
The price per 100ml of own-brand semi-skimmed milk varied between 6p and 13p at Morrisons – that’s 133 per cent more for a shopper choosing a 500ml bottle (65p) than one picking a 2.27-litre one (£1.27)
The consumer champion found it was difficult to make a meaningful price comparison on many fruits and vegetables such as pears and tomatoes.
This is because stores use a variety of price descriptions, including per pack or per 1kg.
There were also many times when the price per unit was clearly displayed but did not apply to a special offer, promotion or other reduction on price.
Which? said there were numerous examples of pricing that was hard to read or missing entirely.
This included for items such as a pack of tomatoes in Tesco, Penguin bars in Waitrose, some soft fruit in Morrisons and vine tomatoes in M&S.
Sue Davies, who is the head of food policy at Which?, said: ‘At a time when food prices are a huge concern, unit pricing can be a useful tool for shoppers to compare and choose the cheapest groceries but unclear supermarket pricing means the vast majority of people are left struggling to find the best deal.’
She added: ‘Small savings can add up and make a big difference but unless supermarkets make unit pricing much more prominent, legible and consistent – as well as displaying it on their promotional offers – people will continue to risk missing out on getting the best value.’