Why clearer unit pricing is on my shopping list

When my local Tesco had Sweetex 600 tablets pack on offer it was still showing the same price per unit as the 1200 pack, yet you could get 2 of the 600s for less than the price of the 1200.

The units they had chosen to use, wonder if you can guess …

per tablet ( 0.3p per tablet ) when clearly per 100 tablets would have been a better start.

Do we know who decides on the units to use in the price per unit, the supermarket, the manufacturer or a magic 8 ball ?

went to Sainsbury’s in Norwich yesterday. I needed some Bramley apples. Loose Bramleys were £1.55 a kilo and a pack of 5 £1.80 As there was no weight per kilo on the pack I weighed it on nearby scales and to my surprise the weight was one kilo, about 16% more!

This is very commendable action, but should this not be already covered by the EU legislation? For me it is inconceivable to have fruit measured in units- after all, apples are all different sizes, but the nutritional content varies with the size, not with weight. Small apple may provide half the nutritional value of a big apple and after all we buy apples to eat, not to look at. All food should be sold by weight, otherwise it is misleading.

That aside, and not entirely on the subject, most fruit in the supermarkets is picked underripe and “ripening in bowl” advised on a packet will only make the fruit soft, but still inedible. And the prices of decent, wholesome fruit are inaccessible for most people.

Unit pricing is definitely not shown on all items on line. I shop with Tesco on line & have been annoyed by similar items, especially fruit & veg, that have one priced per kilo & one per bag. I recently contacted Tesco about this & they said that it was because it’s the way their suppliers pack things. Oh yes, & Tesco buy without knowing the weight of those bags?? I don’t think so!

Visited a new Sainsbury local store to buy some bananas. The shop sells bananas individually, big or small at 30p each. All fruit is sold in this way or in pre-packed boxes which are pre-priced. The shop has no scales as this method makes check-outs quicker.
Will not return and I did not buy as it was an obvious rip-off. Expected better from Sainsburys.

Manufacturers make jars, cartons and tins of various sizes to cover for higher prices. Most people do not notice as they just see the product. Orange juice is sold in various packaged amounts which are always changing. I shop in Waitrose and they display the price per .100ml. There are terrific differences when you check-up on this basis. I feel that the notices whilst good, should be in larger print. You can see the price of various articles in this manner, eg toilet paper per 100 sheets. We have also been conned since metrication and this is still going on as advantage is taken of peoples generally lack of numeracy skills.

Luke, thanks for your comments. You make a good point about reprinting – I think. The point about the existing regulations being a mess may also be good – I see that others have said this – though I’d be interested to hear more about the problems. I also am somewhat sceptical that such a mess will necessarily be easily put right – change, however well-intentioned, often does not have the intended effect (which is another way of stating the precautionary principle). I remain unconvinced that new regulations will necessarily assist the situation, or be worth the time spent on them by all involved. What most shakes my confidence in my position, however, is the failure of any supermarket to defend their current practice (unless I’ve missed this?).

I agree supermarkets play smoke and mirrors with us. Buy one get one free or half price should also stop. It creates waste, perhaps excessive consumption. It discriminates against the less well off and pensioners. When all said and done the price is raised to compensate.Lets have fair and honest pricing. Forbid at or below cost selling. Politicians have courage lets have a motto- KISS -“Keep it Simple Stupid. ” Act quick, not kick it into the long grass for consultation. These issues have been aired for long enough.
A quick question I would ask why are the government having private meetings with the supermarkets? Sounds corrupt! When do we get to meet with them? Keep Sunday Special,well whats left of it.

Lets also stop Supermarkets getting suppliers to fund deals. This ploy seems like the big boys bullying the small suppliers! Initial promotions perhaps to get a product known maybe.

Although supermarkets appear to be trying to help consumers by displaying some comparative data on products, some of the data is not particularly helpful. I have noticed that in many cases the comparative data is different between different manufactures in the same supermarket so for example one porridge manufacturer could be displayed as price per 100gm and another as price per sachet (which is not 100gm) making it difficult to compare.
I have seen a number of people standing with 2 different packets in their hands trying to decide which is the better value.
The contents of packs seem to be a deliberate attempt to keep consumers baffled. Why have teabags in 40s, 80s, 160s, 240s? As a former Maths teacher I enjoy doing the comparisons but am all too aware of the number of people who would struggle even if they had a calculator.

I shop periodically at Waitrose and even there I noted prices for 1lb of tomatoes and next to them more at 1K which led me to buy the wrong ones.

Just seen the Co-op at it again. Pack of 4 yes only 4 apricots ‘were £4 now half-price’ £2 for 4 apricots?

I have been a loyal customer of ASDA for almost 20 years. However, I cannot accept the downright dishonesty of claiming a price-cut on items that have regularly been on sale at the same price if not lower! I have spoken to the floor-manager of the store but the same racket goes on week after week.

Isn’t it interesting that noone from any of the supermarkets targeted have seen fit to reply to our complaints?

The other one that confuses me is when items are reduced or half price or say 3 for 2. Is the price per kilo based on the original price or for just 1 item OR is it the based on the new price or multiple items?

Sometimes I also see two very similar products (even the same brand) where one is in £/kg and othe other is £/100g. Its easy to work out shouldn’t be necessary?!

And often shops want to sell items such as meat and vegtables at a set price. So the shop sets all the weights the same (ie lies) and price per kilo. But I want to know which pack has the most stuff in it for the price I’m paying.

It would help me enormously if the price per kg / 100ml EVEN IF STATED AS ” APPROXIMATELY ”
was shown against offers per unit or multiple units. Or, would this be EU illegal?

I admire and support you for championing this cause. Price per article and per (dare I say it) pound or kilo. for packed and individual items and price per 100 gms on all items which are tinned, bottled, wrapped and encapsulated would greatly assist in procuring the “best” or “better” buys.

The price per 100 grams is often used for lighter items. I find it easier to compare when the price is per Kg (1000 grams) often there are these 2 methods in the same shop, and I’m fine with manipulating the decimal point – however not everyone is bright enough to do the maths and PRICE PER Kg should be standard for all weights whether in supermarket, convenience store, or market etc.
For liquid measure such as milk please standardise on Litres (even for 4 pint containers).
Unit prices are acceptable for things always sold by number such as paracetamol; but please not for fruit and vegetables. I cannot tell if a melon is good value unless the price is per Kg as I dont carry a caliper around to measure it, nor do I know the density per unit volume.

Education in schools needs to focus more on unit pricing, and how to compare dissimilar packs, and how it is the little numbers per Killogramme per Liter etc. that make your pocket empty quicker.

If children were taught always to compare on these little numbers, there would be more of a hue and cry about this.

In shops I always focus on the unit prices, re-calculate into Kg, or Litre that way I should know the cheapest; EXCEPT that Tesco have been known the get the unit price wrong as they calculate it manually and not on computer. I noticed a 4 Kg bag of rice priced at $4.50, and unit price at £0.01 per Kg. They wouldn’t let me have it for 4p. 😉

Unit pricing is all very well as long as its accurate – I’ve seen unit prices which don’t tally with the selling price before now, and mix in the problem of shrinking packs and supermarket websites not necessarily displaying the pack size you’ll actually get (as happened to me this morning) and it makes a nonsense of the whole thing.

My Mum used to take me shopping with her and I remember her calculating the cost per sheet of toilet roll! Whilst I don’t do this myself it did teach me to check how much things really cost when making comparisons.

I really hope that Jo’s initiative bears fruit but I am not holding my breath! Why? Too many vested interests, weak-kneed regulators and watchdogs afraid to act in the public interest.
One really simple and effective move would be to insist on unifrom pricing by weight of fruit and vegetables irrespective of whether the goods are loose or prepacked. Then we’d get away from the nonsense of not knowing whether apples (average price 30p per fruit in a prepack of 6) were more or less expensive than loose apples at £2.40 a kilo. And why aren’t there more scales for customers’ use near the fruit and veg? Apparently the law no longer requires it. Another triumph for deregulation!
Despite their protestations of innocence, supermarkets deliberately use the loopholes in the present pricing regulations to confuse and obfuscate.

All of the big four supermarkets use complex unit pricing for fruit and veg which make it extremely difficult to compare the price per pound/ kilogram. Prices can sometimes be double the price! I wrote to Tesco customer service raising this issue, the person who dealt with my enquiry agreed that the pricing structure made it extremely difficult to compare the unit cost of loose and packed produce. The question was passed to the Tesco pricing team, who unsurprisingly decided not to make any changes, whilst citing that their practice is consistent with the legal pricing framework.

All of the supermarkets currently use strap lines such as “Saving you money everyday” “low prices everyday” “helping you to live well for less” etc seem of limited value given the lack of pricing information available to assist the customer. Please can parliament discuss this further?