Bogof deals ‘are immoral and a waste of money’

SUPERMARKET multi-buy offers are immoral, an expert warned yesterday.

Bogof deals – buy one, get one free – encourage shoppers to waste money on products they don’t need, a farming conference was told.

Janet Godsell, a professor of supply chain strategy at Warwick University, also warned the offers cause havoc for suppliers who have to ramp up production temporarily and then reduce it again once deals end.

She said stores should simply offer ‘everyday low prices’ instead – and pointed out how successful budget chains Aldi and Lidl have become.

Her warning comes after research by the Government’s Money Advice Service earlier this month found three quarters of shoppers spend more than they mean to on a food shop because they are tempted by offers. The study also warned that many offers are confusing or misleading and shoppers struggle to work out if they are getting a good deal.

Bogof deals have also been criti- cised for creating food waste and promoting unhealthy products.

Professor Godsell told the National Farmers’ Union conference in Birmingham: ‘I actually think it’s morally wrong to promote food with Bogofs, particularly the basics, because we should be trying to make food available to everyone at the lowest possible cost. With food we’ve got more of a moral responsibility that people in the UK can eat at affordable prices.’

She added: ‘I think it forces people to spend money on things that they don’t need. It creates inefficiency along the supply chain, which means the price of a product stays higher than what it could do if you offered genuinely everyday low prices strategy. If you want proof of the pudding why everyday low price works, look at how successful Aldi and Lidl are.’

Prof Godsell said shoppers end up with money tied up in stockpiles in their cupboards, which is particularly bad for those on lower incomes for whom that money might be needed elsewhere. This is also bad for suppliers as you then don’t buy those products again for months.

Earlier this month Sainsbury’s announced that Bogofs and similar deals will gradually disappear by August. Tesco is also scaling back its multi-buy promotions.

The Competition and Markets Authority is drawing up guidelines to make sure deals are presented in a way that is simpler for shoppers, but will not ban multi-buy deals.