When is a supermarket special really a special?

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itxtme

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#145502 20-May-2014 08:38

Was in at PaknSave on the weekend and was excited to see so much of there meat on special. Looked at the price tag more closely and alot of it was this kind of special

My sentiments are this is an attempt to use the special tag to get people to emotively purchase the products, a saving of 0.48% on the original price per kg - seriously!? While maybe its not strictly illegal it doesnt seem to be particularly ethical!

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#1048547 20-May-2014 08:52

Very common in all supermarkets.

Fred99

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#1048551 20-May-2014 09:00

That's typical - and they all do it.
A trickier trick that they do is with frozen chickens where they actually will have a worthwhile special with a big notice behind the freezer bin stating "Tegal No, 16 Chickens $7.99" . The freezer bin will have a mix of #16 and #14 chickens in it, and the #14 chooks will be about $13.99 each - that price will be displayed on a little tag. If you sit back and watch - many people don't look and bung the first chicken they pull out of the bin in their trolley. This should cause problems at the checkout - if people notice when they get scanned or check their bill. But no - as the type of person who check their receipt and keep an eye open as goods are being scanned, are also very careful about checking prices of things before they out them in the trolley.

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#1048552 20-May-2014 09:02

And marketing that works.

Since the price is reduced it can be called a special (though – as your calculations show, not a very “special” special) - probably not an ethical issue.

I don't see it as much different than their use of lighting, ambiance and placement as other ways to encourage emotive purchasing.

Luckily you've shown the big yellow sticker didn't influence your buying decision as much as a quick mental calculation of the actual saving.

Unless you bought it?

itxtme

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#1048555 20-May-2014 09:08

Nope didnt buy it, wasnt the only product either. I have not seen it to that extreme before, which is why it peeved me.

ahmad

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#1048556 20-May-2014 09:09

Nothing illegal about it. Countdown regularly has 1c off items on special. where you get in trouble is having something on special with 0c off (yes Countdown has been there)

robjg63

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#1048559 20-May-2014 09:17

A supermarket I used to go to often left the 'special' tags on the shelves after the special had finished.
I think it was just poor housekeeping rather than trying to deceive.

Of course you buy several things and dont look too hard at the time - but then looking at the receipt later you realise that you paid more than you thought for an item.

I now pay attention to the 'special' label - they usually have a finish date on them.

Also -I love it when you are looking at something like spray cleaner/liquid soap. They often have refills. Should be a little cheaper because it doesnt have the spray pump and you think you are doing the environment a favour. Look again. Seems quite often the refills actually cost more than the whole unit.

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#1048562 20-May-2014 09:27

A trick I use, when reading product labels (which I do being on an additive free diet), read the "price per unit" when comparing prices - this will tell you which one is actually cheaper. Then the end price can be used to select the product.

My preference is to shop at a dedicated butcher/grocer etc. rather than a supermarket - mainly for range of product and savings.

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Kraven

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#1048594 20-May-2014 09:52

If the amount you are charged is different from the price marked on the shelf/special ticket, call them out on it. I shop at Countdown and they have a very clear policy on this and it does work.

http://www.countdown.co.nz/about-us/refund-policy

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#1048596 20-May-2014 09:54

TwoSeven: A trick I use, when reading product labels (which I do being on an additive free diet), read the "price per unit" when comparing prices - this will tell you which one is actually cheaper. Then the end price can be used to select the product.

My preference is to shop at a dedicated butcher/grocer etc. rather than a supermarket - mainly for range of product and savings.

I often find that the specials labels don't have the price per amount on them, which makes it hard to compare prices (at least in Countdown). I've switched to Pak n Save and I've noticed my weekly shop is cheaper.

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#1048599 20-May-2014 10:03

Caveat emptor

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#1048644 20-May-2014 10:55

Fred99: That's typical - and they all do it.
A trickier trick that they do is with frozen chickens where they actually will have a worthwhile special with a big notice behind the freezer bin stating "Tegal No, 16 Chickens $7.99" . The freezer bin will have a mix of #16 and #14 chickens in it, and the #14 chooks will be about $13.99 each - that price will be displayed on a little tag. If you sit back and watch - many people don't look and bung the first chicken they pull out of the bin in their trolley. This should cause problems at the checkout - if people notice when they get scanned or check their bill. But no - as the type of person who check their receipt and keep an eye open as goods are being scanned, are also very careful about checking prices of things before they out them in the trolley.

Slightly aside, but why are all the chickens in NZ so small?

We thought they must be sparrows or something when we first moved here - UK chickens are sized differently using less silly numbers (1 - 10 rather than 1-100 or whatever they use here!) and we think an average UK supermarket chicken would be about a size 22 here, which you hardly ever see.

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ahmad

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#1048645 20-May-2014 10:56

Geektastic:
Fred99: That's typical - and they all do it.
A trickier trick that they do is with frozen chickens where they actually will have a worthwhile special with a big notice behind the freezer bin stating "Tegal No, 16 Chickens $7.99" . The freezer bin will have a mix of #16 and #14 chickens in it, and the #14 chooks will be about $13.99 each - that price will be displayed on a little tag. If you sit back and watch - many people don't look and bung the first chicken they pull out of the bin in their trolley. This should cause problems at the checkout - if people notice when they get scanned or check their bill. But no - as the type of person who check their receipt and keep an eye open as goods are being scanned, are also very careful about checking prices of things before they out them in the trolley.

Slightly aside, but why are all the chickens in NZ so small?

We thought they must be sparrows or something when we first moved here - UK chickens are sized differently using less silly numbers (1 - 10 rather than 1-100 or whatever they use here!) and we think an average UK supermarket chicken would be about a size 22 here, which you hardly ever see.

We don't use antibiotics in their rearing

Geektastic

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#1048646 20-May-2014 10:57

ahmad:
Geektastic:
Fred99: That's typical - and they all do it.
A trickier trick that they do is with frozen chickens where they actually will have a worthwhile special with a big notice behind the freezer bin stating "Tegal No, 16 Chickens $7.99" . The freezer bin will have a mix of #16 and #14 chickens in it, and the #14 chooks will be about $13.99 each - that price will be displayed on a little tag. If you sit back and watch - many people don't look and bung the first chicken they pull out of the bin in their trolley. This should cause problems at the checkout - if people notice when they get scanned or check their bill. But no - as the type of person who check their receipt and keep an eye open as goods are being scanned, are also very careful about checking prices of things before they out them in the trolley.

Slightly aside, but why are all the chickens in NZ so small?

We thought they must be sparrows or something when we first moved here - UK chickens are sized differently using less silly numbers (1 - 10 rather than 1-100 or whatever they use here!) and we think an average UK supermarket chicken would be about a size 22 here, which you hardly ever see.

We don't use antibiotics in their rearing

Neither do they in the chickens we bought in the UK (usually free range organic) but that does not affect their size, it just stops them getting sick and dying, which reduces profit.

MikeB4

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#1048648 20-May-2014 11:00

Geektastic:
Fred99: That's typical - and they all do it.
A trickier trick that they do is with frozen chickens where they actually will have a worthwhile special with a big notice behind the freezer bin stating "Tegal No, 16 Chickens $7.99" . The freezer bin will have a mix of #16 and #14 chickens in it, and the #14 chooks will be about $13.99 each - that price will be displayed on a little tag. If you sit back and watch - many people don't look and bung the first chicken they pull out of the bin in their trolley. This should cause problems at the checkout - if people notice when they get scanned or check their bill. But no - as the type of person who check their receipt and keep an eye open as goods are being scanned, are also very careful about checking prices of things before they out them in the trolley.

Slightly aside, but why are all the chickens in NZ so small?

We thought they must be sparrows or something when we first moved here - UK chickens are sized differently using less silly numbers (1 - 10 rather than 1-100 or whatever they use here!) and we think an average UK supermarket chicken would be about a size 22 here, which you hardly ever see.

The Chicken sizes easily feeds a family in NZ. But of course we never do it right here do we , only the UK does it right

Here is a crazy notion, lets give peace a chance.

Lazarui

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#1048669 20-May-2014 11:16

Geektastic:
ahmad:
Geektastic:
Fred99: That's typical - and they all do it.
A trickier trick that they do is with frozen chickens where they actually will have a worthwhile special with a big notice behind the freezer bin stating "Tegal No, 16 Chickens $7.99" . The freezer bin will have a mix of #16 and #14 chickens in it, and the #14 chooks will be about $13.99 each - that price will be displayed on a little tag. If you sit back and watch - many people don't look and bung the first chicken they pull out of the bin in their trolley. This should cause problems at the checkout - if people notice when they get scanned or check their bill. But no - as the type of person who check their receipt and keep an eye open as goods are being scanned, are also very careful about checking prices of things before they out them in the trolley.

Slightly aside, but why are all the chickens in NZ so small?

We thought they must be sparrows or something when we first moved here - UK chickens are sized differently using less silly numbers (1 - 10 rather than 1-100 or whatever they use here!) and we think an average UK supermarket chicken would be about a size 22 here, which you hardly ever see.

We don't use antibiotics in their rearing

Neither do they in the chickens we bought in the UK (usually free range organic) but that does not affect their size, it just stops them getting sick and dying, which reduces profit.

The bigger ones go to the UK?

In all seriousness this is actually the majority of what happens with NZ produce, we get the lower 'quality' (Which is generally pretty good cause its fresh and ont he whole New Zealanders tend not to care if something is slightly brusied or mishapen) and ship the rest off overseas because they can chuck a Hobbit made sticker on it and charge premium rates.

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