Shoppers are fed up with retail tricks such as inflation slashing, fake savings on loyalty cards and price changes.
- One investigation found that 67 percent believed supermarkets inflated regular prices.
Shoppers are fed up with retailers’ price rip-offs such as inflation slashing, bogus loyalty card savings and variable pricing, research shows.
Most believe supermarkets, manufacturers, pubs and other businesses use underhanded tactics to thwart their efforts to save money and make ends meet.
Two in three shoppers say inflated shrinkage (when an item’s weight drops but the price doesn’t) has become so common that stores should put warning labels on products that are getting smaller but not cheaper.
Two in three shoppers say shrinkage has become so common that stores should put warning labels on products that are getting smaller but not cheaper (File Photo)
Repressive measures have occurred in other countries. French ministers have described the tactic as a “scam” and some French supermarkets use orange labels to identify such products.
Millions of people have turned to supermarket loyalty cards in the belief that they will help them put food on the table more affordably.
But Barclaycard research found 67 per cent believed supermarkets inflated regular prices to make loyalty card savings look like a better deal.
Recent research by consumer group Which? discovered that Tesco and Sainsbury’s appeared to be increasing the price of household essentials before offering what looked like big reductions on loyalty cards.
Their allegations covered a wide range of products from brands such as Nescafé, Heinz, Andrex, Persil, Cadbury, Quaker and Peroni.
Meanwhile, 47 percent of shoppers said they had noticed more “price surges,” in which companies raise prices on products and services during busy periods.
Of those, 32 per cent said they had seen an increase in the price of food and drink in pubs and bars at peak times, such as evenings, weekends and major sporting events.
Research by Barclaycard found 67 per cent believed supermarkets inflated regular prices to make loyalty card savings look like a better deal (File Photo)
Britain’s biggest pub company, the Stonegate Group, which owns the Slug & Lettuce and Yates chains, has increased prices at 800 pubs during peak times, increasing the price of a pint by 20p during peak periods. , in what it calls “dynamic pricing.”
Barclaycard found that only 8 per cent were willing to pay more to eat and drink out at popular times; However, the card company said some buyers were looking to escape austerity with some goodies.
Sales at health and beauty stores rose 6.9 percent last month, possibly due to the “lipstick effect,” in which “consumers prioritize small treats, such as cosmetics and personal care products, over expensive items during periods of economic crisis. uncertainty’.
Barclays director Esme Harwood said: “Eagle-eyed shoppers have spotted more examples of price rises and inflation contraction, and are becoming skeptical about the value of supermarket loyalty programs.”
The research comes as it emerged that retail sales growth slowed last month as consumers limited their spending. It was the 26th month of continuous decline in online sales.
UK retail sales rose 2.7 percent in September despite lower inflation, well below the 12-month average of 4.2 percent, according to the British Retail Consortium-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor.
