THE TACTICS THAT BAFFLE CUSTOMERS
Seasonal offers
A Nestle Kit Kat Chunky Collection Giant Egg for Easter was advertised at £7.49 for just 10 days this January at Ocado, but then sold ‘on offer’ at £5 for 51 days
Tesco was fined £300,000 in 2013 over a half-price strawberry promotion. It charged an ‘original’ price of £3.99 for a short period before a half-price promotion at £1.99 which ran for weeks
Multi-buys
Asda increased the regular price of Uncle Ben’s Express Basmati rice from £1 to £1.58 at the same time as offering ‘two for £3’
The supermarket did the same with a four-carton pack of Müller Light Greek-style yoghurt, priced at £1.50. It then raised this price to £2.18 during a multi-buy promotion where it was selling ‘2 for £4’
Shrinkflation
Firms are shrinking products but stores do not cut prices accordingly. PG Tips reduced the weight of tea in its teabags, cutting a box of 80 from 250g to 232g – equivalent to six bags
A Kit Kat Chunky bar is down from 48g to 40g; Hovis ‘Best of Both’ loaf from 800g to 750g; Birds Eye Select Mixed Vegetables from 750g to 690g; Surf washing powder from 2kg to 1.61kg)
Big packs, big value?
Tesco sold a ‘special value’ multipack of six cans of Green Giant Original Sweetcorn for £3.56 – about 60p per can. It was also selling four cans for £2 – at a cheaper 50p per can
Asda sold a large pack of 160 PG Tips teabags for £4.68 – but two small boxes of 80 cost just £4
Sainsbury’s sold an 18-pack of Peroni beer for £23, which works out at at £1.28 a bottle. A 12-pack was £13, or £1.09 a bottle
Was/now pricing
Heston from Waitrose Acacia Honey & Ginger Hot Cross Buns were advertised at £1.50 for just 12 days before going on offer at ‘£1.12 was £1.50’ for 26 days
Sainsbury’s sold packs of Carex Antibacterial Handwash at £1.80 for seven days. This was used as a benchmark for a half price offer than ran for 84 days in 2013
Weights and measures
Confusing labels make it difficult to decipher whether fruit and vegetables are cheaper when bought in a pack or loose
Asda sold a pack of five bananas for £1 – 20p each – but when bought loose based on weight they cost 12p each
By contrast, Sainsbury’s sold a pack of four baking potatoes for 75p, or 19p each. Buying five of the potatoes loose worked out at 36p each