The CFA sponsored side event on grocery unit pricing at the Consumers International Summit in Portugal on 29 April 2019 was very successful.
CFA executive member Ian Jarratt gave a presentation on the history, benefits of, and problems with, the provision of unit pricing of pre-packaged grocery items around the world. Ian also provided a summary of the recently-released ISO standard ISO 21041:2018 Guidance on Unit Pricing.
There were also presentations on unit pricing in Japan, New Zealand and Australia, and in-depth discussions on how to increase the provision of unit pricing that is easy for consumers to notice, read, understand and use.
The event was attended by about 25 consumer advocates from a range of countries, including many where retailers do not provide the unit price of pre-packaged grocery products. CFA executive members Gerard Brody and Gemma Mitchell also attended.
CFA’s presentation highlighted that:
- Unit pricing is very beneficial for consumers, but only if easy to notice, read, understand, and use.
- It is often not provided by retailers unless required by law.
- Quality is often unsatisfactory.
- Consumer advocates can, and should, work together to achieve the provision of much more effective unit pricing.
Several consumer advocates indicated interest in advocating for unit pricing to be provided in their country. Advocates from some countries where unit pricing is now provided, but not well, were also interested in securing improvements that would increase consumer awareness and use.