Consumer group Which? have claimed that supermarkets are still misleading people when it comes to their special offers.
A critical eye has been turned on the supermarkets as they attempt to claw back market shares from discounters and from Waitrose.
One of the most common ways in which they do this is by promoting special offers. However, Which? have found that these offers aren’t so special.
It is reported that some of the special offers are on products that have been sold at the lower ‘special’ price for longer than the original high price. For example, Sainsburys apparently sold Carex Anti-Bacterial Hand Wash for 10 days at £1.60, and then for £1 for 28 days, under the offer claim “was £1.60 now £1”.
Although true, it is easy to see how these deals are somewhat misleading and can make people think that the shops are giving them a better deal than they actually are.
Another example cited on the Which? website is that Asda doubled the price of a single Muller Yoghurt, from 30p to 61p, and then put the yoghurts on offer at 10 for £4. This made each one cost 40p, 10p more expensive than originally priced. After the ‘offer’, the price was halved back to the original price.
All the big four supermarkets, Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons are being called into question, and this comes just after Tesco chief executive Philip Clarke has announced he will step down in October due to the superstore chain not being able to reverse its falling profits.
Alex Neill, head of the campaigns at Which? said: “We want special offers to be special and are campaigning for simpler, clearer and fairer pricing rules.”
