Following its decision to require grocery retailers to provide consumers with unit pricing (pricing per unit of measure), the NZ government recently released a wide ranging Discussion Paper seeking views on many aspects of unit pricing, including system design, scope and implementation, prior to releasing draft legislation. It is now considering submissions received.
The system that NZ introduces could influence the future of the Australian system. And, the Discussion Paper refers to the Australian system, introduced in 2009, and which has been studied by some Australian consumer organizations and academics.
Consequently, although the submissions made, have not yet been published by the NZ government, some Australians have made submissions. These include one by Ian Jarratt and a joint one by Dr Jun Yao (Macquarie University) and Professor Harmen Oppewal (Monash University).
Ian Jarratt also provided reports on the results of two experiments undertaken in 2014 and 2016 by the Queensland Consumers Association on the influence of print size and viewing angle on the legibility and prominence of the unit price viewed by participants on paper shelf labels located 20cm from the ground. This location was chosen to simulate unit prices on labels on supermarket bottom shelves, which can be the most difficult for consumers to notice and read. The unit price print sizes used were: 2, 3, 4, 6, 8 and 10mm.
Prepared by CFA Executive Member Ian Jarratt, of Queensland Consumers Association. He can be reached at ijarratt@australiamail.com.
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