Unclear and inconsistent use of unit prices in supermarkets is preventing cash-strapped consumers from being able to work out which products are cheapest, says Which?

 

Two thirds of consumers have tried to compare the costs of the same type of products using unit prices. But only around half of people think it’s easy to work out which product is better value for money this way, with many consumers left confused by how unit prices are displayed.

 

Shoppers from the consumer champion visited branches of the main supermarkets around the UK to see how unit pricing is provided. They found unit prices often not being shown for multi-buys or promotions, and different units being used for varieties of the same product - such as per 100g and per kg - making them extremely difficult to compare. 

 

Some of the most confusing examples of unit pricing were found on fruit and vegetables. This included:  

• Pre-packed red onions priced at £1.35 for 3 or 45p per item next to loose onions priced at 95p per kg 
  
  
• A seven pack of mini bananas with a selling price of 99p and a unit price of 14.1p each next to loose bananas priced at 68p per kg; and 
  
  
• Red peppers in 500g packs on sale for £2.09 or £4.18 per kg next to packs of 3 mixed peppers priced at £1.65 or 56p each. 

Which? executive director, Richard Lloyd, says: 

“Unit prices should be a useful tool for people to compare food prices and choose the best value product, which is crucial when we’re all looking to save money. But we’ve found unclear and inconsistent use of unit prices across all the major supermarkets. 

 

“We want to see retailers and the government make urgent improvements so that consumers can compare like-for-like in the supermarket. We’ll be investigating this issue further over the coming months, and we’re asking the public to help us name and shame the worst offenders.”

 

Which? is calling on consumers to send them pictures of confusing unit pricing in their local supermarket. Tweet at @whichaction or email your photo to the website below. Which? will add the best of the bunch to their online gallery which you can find by following the link below.