Are female consumers still paying the pink tax?
A row of multivitamins perch on a supermarket shelf. The price tags show all the products are on sale – apart from the one in a pinkcoloured bottle.
It’s a sight that is all too familiar for some women, who say they are paying a ‘‘pink tax’’ – a higher price for products that are aimed at women.
Stuff travel reporter Juliette Sivertsen was shopping at New World Victoria Park in Auckland on Sunday and was frustrated to see Health by Habit vitamins were all $4 off – except the women’s multivitamins.
‘‘I ended up buying another multi from the same brand, purely because it was on sale,’’ she said.
‘‘I mean, maybe the sale sign dropped off? Who knows ... but it definitely affected my purchasing decision.’’
A Foodstuffs spokesperson said there was no ‘‘pink tax’’ on the products.
‘‘It’s just that different products are on special at different times and when you went in to take your photo the men’s multivitamins happened to be on special.’’
A couple of weeks ago the women’s multivitamin was on special, and the men’s was not, she said.
‘‘Our category team have looked, and the products are the same price, and they have been on special an equal number of times in the last 12 months.’’
While Foodstuffs says Sivertsen’s example is just a case of a shopping visit missing a special, research has found that women who feel that they are paying more may well be right.
In 1994, California banned ‘‘gender pricing’’ and found women paid more than US$1200 in extra costs and fees each year.
A New York study in 2015 found women’s products cost 7% more than men’s products that were similar.
A review by the University of Otago found girls’ uniforms were often more expensive than those for boys. And in 2016 a study found women paid more for homebrand toiletries and clothing items in major UK supermarkets – with women paying on average £1.54 (NZ$2.96) more for a basket of goods than men.
Consumer NZ investigative writer Rebecca Styles found she paid $42 for a barber cut, while her usual hairdresser cost $102 for the same service in November.
Styles searched online for prices at 15 salons in Wellington, and found 14 salons had gendered pricing. A men’s cut and style was $38 cheaper on average.
Last year, Vivo hair salons changed its pricing from traditional women’s and men’s rates to gender-neutral pricing across all its 90 salons.
At Countdown this week, gender-neutral Bic disposable shavers were $8.50 for a 20-pack, or 43c each, while Bic disposable ‘‘lady shavers’’ were $3.70 for a twin pack, or 70c each.
Andrew Murphy, a senior lecturer in marketing at Massey University said there were three ways differences in price could be justified by manufacturers or retailers.
If a product was specialised or enhanced for women, it could cost more to develop. He said this was possible but probably a minor factor.
A product that was for a niche audience could also be more expensive, he said. Or it could simply be market pricing. ‘‘Women are willing to pay more for something that is more suited in function, design or branding.’’