Is UK supermarket chain Tesco breaking the law with their price labelling?

Tony Baggett - stock.adobe.com

The consumer group 'Which?' claim Tesco may have broken the law with their price labelling. They called Tesco’s pricing on Clubcard promotions “confusing” and apparently “could be breaking the law”.

Which? has reported the supermarket to the UK competition watchdog, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), for not including unit pricing. For example, the cost per 100g, on products with their loyalty Clubcard promotions.

Unit prices are a simple tool for shoppers, particularly those working on a budget, in stores and online to compare the amount they are paying for products so they can get value for money.

Which? Claims Tesco displays for unit pricing on some offers can be interpreted as “misleading” under the Consumer Protection From Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.

The average pricing for Heinz tomato ketchup in Tesco costs £3.90 (or 55.7p per 100g) for a 700g bottle.

The Clubcard price for the same battle is labelled £3.50, however, there is no explanation of the unit price, which works out at 50p per 100g.

A 910g bottle of exactly the same ketchup is £3.99 standard price, or if the price is broken down per 100g is 43.8p.

Sue Davies, head of food policy at Which? said: “Tesco’s unclear Clubcard pricing is at best confusing for shoppers struggling with soaring food inflation and at worst, could be breaking the law.”

Which? would like Tesco to introduce unit pricing on Clubcard Prices as soon as possible.

A spokesman for Tesco said: “We always take care to ensure we are compliant, which is why we asked Trading Standards to review our approach on Clubcard Prices."

“They formally endorsed our labelling, confirming it meets the current legal requirements and guidelines."

The regulatory body, Competition and Markets Authority, commented: “Our current review of unit pricing is considering the issue of how supermarkets provide unit price information for products on promotions, including loyalty promotions. We will set out our findings in July”.

Tesco is not the only supermarket chain under fire for these allegations. Which? has found issues with unit pricing across all supermarkets, but Tesco stands out as it consistently omits unit pricing from Clubcard offers, which now account for almost all promotions it offers on groceries.