Consumer watchdog suggests supermarkets adopt unit pricing policy

The Consumer Council reminds residents to compare products based on their unit price when doing grocery shopping. It also suggest local supermarkets implement unit pricing policies to improve price transparency.

Supermarkets often offer a wide array of promotions to shoppers. Between last September and this July, the Consumer Council surveyed on the online prices of 222 products sold by three supermarket chains. The consumer watchdog found that the actual discounts offered under some promotions were not that attractive.

For instance, a 150-millilitre sesame oil bottle was 20 or 22 dollars during a "Buy 1 Get 1 Free" promotion, which is notably higher than the pre-promotion price of 10-14 dollars. After accounting for the promotion, each bottle's average price was 10 or 11 dollars, representing a maximum discount of about 29% compared with the pre-promotion price. The council says the discount might not meet consumers' expectation that the offer is equivalent to nearly a 50% sale.

The Consumer Council's Chief Executive Alaina Shum says "Hong Kong is a free market. We actually look at that merchants have the flexibility to adjust their pricing. It is not a prudent move to adjust the price immediately before launching any big bulk buy promotions. That will actually affect the confidence of consumers

on the merchants' reputation."

The council says local supermarkets could take reference from the unit pricing policy implemented in overseas stores such as ones in the UK and Australia.