Eight of the UK's biggest supermarkets have signed up to a set of principles following concerns that they were "failing to operate within the spirit of the law" over special offers and promotions for food and drink, the Office of Fair Trading has said.
Tesco, Sainsbury's, Waitrose, Morrisons, Marks & Spencer, Aldi, the Co-operative and Lidl have agreed to incorporate the principles into their policies, to ensure promotions are "fair and meaningful".
They cover popular claims involving discounts such as "was £3, now £2" or "half price", which must now only be offered for the same or less time than the product was initially sold at the higher price. The supermarkets have also agreed not to artificially inflate prices to make a later "discount" look more attractive.
In addition, pre-printed claims on packs – such as "bigger pack, better value" must be true, and there should not be a cheaper way of buying the same volume of the product elsewhere in the same store, even if there is a promotion on smaller packs of the same item.
The OFT launched an investigation into the sector amid concerns that shoppers were confused by the way prices are displayed, advertised and promoted. It did not find that the supermarkets had breached the law or were deliberately and systematically engaging in misleading promotional practices but did find "what appeared to be inconsistency in the way the law was being interpreted and applied." A spokeswoman added: "We were concerned they weren't operating within the spirit of the law." Trading standards officers will take enforcement action if the new voluntary agreement is flouted.
The Guardian's Money section has in recent months featured dozens of "daft deals" that reveal confusing and misleading pricing on special offers and discounts – with multibuys, for example, pricier than buying the items individually.
OFT chief executive Clive Maxwell said: "Household budgets across the country are under pressure and shoppers should be able to trust that special offers and promotions really are bargains. Prices and promotions need to be fair and meaningful so shoppers can make the right decisions."
He said a huge amount was at stake as regular shopping for groceries accounted for 44% of household spending, and went on: "Our principles taken together with previous guidance provide supermarkets with a clear benchmark for how they should be operating so that their food and drink promotions reflect the spirit as well as the letter of the law."
Asda – also involved in the discussions – said it did not sign up to the agreement because it felt unable to support one of the recommended approaches which says that retailers can only run a promotion for as long as they have established the price for. An Asda spokeswoman said: "While this is meant to discourage high/low pricing promotions, our concern is that it could actually encourage it – ie, you could technically now have a price established for a couple of days to drop it for the weekend. On this basis we're taking some time to consider the recommendations in detail. We are committed to giving our customers clear and accurate pricing information that fully complies with the law."
Consumer groups welcomed the move but said it did not go fair enough. Which? executive director Richard Lloyd said: "It should be good for hard-pressed consumers that the OFT has now made clear to supermarkets what is off limits when they promote products with special offers or discounts. We now want the retailers to go further and make a stronger commitment to fair treatment of their customers, so that as well as scrapping misleading promotions they ensure busy shoppers see clear, consistent unit pricing with real bargains that are easy to spot at a glance."
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