- Which? investigation uncovers ‘worrying’ pricing structures at retailers
Major retailers have been criticised for their “murky and confusing” loyalty pricing practices, with some offering deals that aren’t as good as they seem.
During the cost of living crisis, supermarkets and other retailers have been criticised for introducing a two-tier pricing structure.
Customers who don’t have a loyalty card, or who simply aren’t comfortable with the large amount of data they have on you, are likely to spend more at the checkout.
Scam: Which? investigation reveals ‘murky and confusing’ pricing practices by retailers
An investigation by consumer website Which? has uncovered “concerning membership pricing practices” at Boots, Superdrug and supermarkets.
Which? analysed the price history of almost 12,000 products across health and beauty stores and supermarkets to investigate how genuine the loyalty savings are.
They found that some discounts and items were always on loyalty promotions, and also discovered examples of non-member pricing “that appears to be a total rip-off.”
Which? researchers found that Superdrug loyalty prices offer, on average, a third off the highest price for non-members.
The three biggest supermarkets offered similar discounts: 25% at Morrisons, 24% at Sainsbury’s and 23% at Tesco. Co-op and Boots offered discounts of 10%.
While the discounts are tempting, Which? questions their authenticity as many non-member prices were introduced just days before.
In a Snapshot Day, Which? researchers analysed how many times non-member prices had been applied to loyalty discounted items over the previous six months.
They found that one in six Superdrug products had been at their non-member price for less than half the time, compared with one in ten at Boots.
Tesco also had 10 per cent, followed by Sainsbury’s with 5 per cent and Co-op with 3 per cent.
Which? also found instances of prices rising to a higher level for a relatively short period before moving into “supply.”
For example, Superdrug sold an Ultimate Day & Night Duo – Olay Regenerist & Retinol Bundle for £71.98 for non-members and £59.99 for members.
However, the product was only priced at £71.98 for 13 days, before which it cost £35.98 for everyone.
At Boots, an Oral-B iO7 electric toothbrush was sold to non-members for £400 and to members for £150. The product was only sold at £400 for 13 days, before which it was priced at £150.
At Tesco, the Ambre Solaire SPF30 Ultra-Hydrating Sunscreen Spray 200ml was £8 for non-members and £6 for members. However, it had only cost £8 for 14 days – before that it was £6.
Sainsbury’s was selling Ariel All-in-1 capsules for £10.50 for non-members and £1 cheaper for members. However, they had only been at £10.50 for 28 days, before which they were £10 for everyone. Two months earlier, they were £9.50 for everyone.
An earlier Which? investigation revealed that some loyalty prices at Sainsbury’s and Tesco were not as good as they seemed and triggered a CMA investigation.
However, the regulator recently said that supermarket loyalty prices are not misleading to shoppers.
Ele Clark, retail editor at Which?, said: ‘We analysed the price history of thousands of products and found that while most discounts weren’t misleading, there were some questionable prices for non-members and some examples that looked like outright rip-offs.
‘Meanwhile, some products were always, or almost always, on loyalty promotion, making it difficult to spot a genuine offer.
‘Guidelines on pricing laws need to be updated to include loyalty pricing to help regulators crack down if companies break the rules.
‘The CMA should continue to monitor loyalty pricing practices in key consumer sectors and be prepared to use its new powers to take action against retailers who fail to comply.’