The campaign for better unit pricing in UK supermarkets by UK consumer organisation WHICH? has had a major success.
Two major supermarket chains (unlike in Australia there are many major chains) Morrisons and Sainsbury have announced that they will voluntarily take steps to improve their unit pricing.
Based on surveys of consumers, WHICH? is campaigning for several improvements including addressing a major problem which is seen in Australian supermarkets – the unit price can be difficult to notice and read.
Morrisons has said it will be “making changes to the print on shelf labels so that unit prices are larger and more visible” and Sainsbury has announced that it will “trial a new labelling format”.
This move by prominent supermarket chains in the U.K follows the move by TESCO to introduce traffic light labelling on all its products, another win for consumer’s in the U.K and another issue that Australian consumer representatives such as CHOICE are still battling.
Despite some small differences between Australian and U.K standards on unit pricing the UK’s current success has leap frogged over Australian attempts to achieve the same involvement by it’s supermarkets.
Ian Jarratt of the Queensland Consumers Association (QCA) led the recent successful campaign for compulsory unit pricing in Australia and has studied it in several countries, including the UK.
Research by WHICH? suggests that the minimum size print for unit prices should be the greater of 5 mm or 50% that of the selling price.
Ian says this size print is a useful standard which most unit prices provided in supermarkets in the UK and Australia do not meet at present.
Many consumers are currently unaware of the savings that can be made from shopping using unit pricing, this needs to change in order for it to have a positive effect on consumers. Making changes to visibilty and eligibilty such as those currently underway in the UK would help create this change in Australian supermarkets.
When combined with a font that is easy to read and bold, and the unit price being placed very close to the selling price, it would result in unit prices being much easier for consumers to notice and read.
Ian says surveys of Australian consumers show that they too want unit prices to be much more prominent and legible.
Supermarkets and the ACCC should follow the example of these UK supermarkets and accept this and take action to provide what consumers so clearly want and will benefit from.
This article was written with the assistance of Ian Jarett.
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