The UK’s Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) has confirmed that it’s looking into claims that the country’s supermarkets are misleading customers with false discounts.
UK Supermarkets in the Spotlight for Loyalty Prices
The watchdog will be focussing on the prices that are shown as “was” as “now”, suggesting that purchasers are getting a lower price than the regular cost of the item. This issue has arisen over concerns that customers may not get the savings advertising makes them believe they are.
It’s the latest part of an overall review by the CMA into supermarket loyalty schemes. With over 80% of UK residents having at least one loyalty card, according to some surveys, it’s clear that the schemes are massively popular. Tesco (TSCO) and Sainsbury’s (SBRY) are among the big supermarket chains that have loyalty schemes.
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However, the growing popularity of these loyalty programmes has encouraged industry regulators to look at the value they offer and whether customers are being too heavily persuaded to sign up. At the start of the loyalty card investigation earlier this year, the CMA questioned whether customers were paying more than they should, with regular prices possibly increased to make loyalty card deals more attractive.
TSCO and SBRY were among the brands that responded publicly at the time, saying that price increases were due to inflation. The latest news on the case came from the CMA on Friday, stating that it was “unlikely to identify widespread evidence of loyalty promotions that mislead shoppers in this way”.
However, the watchdog continues to gather information on the prices before and after loyalty promotions are added to products. The next update is expected in November this year.
