Consumer NZ has launched a petition. They want change to stop prices being incorrectly labelled.
So you go to checkout and scan receipts, something's different to what you expected. Then we would get a refund on the product, and the product for free.
The idea is that if you make the punishment more than fit the crime, they'll stop doing it.
Which I get. But the supermarkets reckon —and Consumer NZ calls this spin— that there's just too many products and they honestly make mistakes.
More often than not the prices are out by a few cents - so $5.99 instead $5.95.
The key question here is whether we think the supermarkets are doing this on purpose, or whether they're just large organisation that occasionally get small things wrong.
And correct the errors when spotted. Refunds where necessary.
If we're saying they are deliberately doing this, that's a whole other thing.
I'm not saying the supermarkets should be given a Hall Pass here, but if we're talking about a few million dollars a year spread over a population of five million, plus the free products on top of refunds they'd have to fund...
You've got to ask if the potential payoff is worth the cost of pushing a policy like this.
Ryan Bridge is a New Zealand broadcaster who has worked on many current affairs television and radio shows. He currently hosts Newstalk ZB's Early Edition - where this article was sourced.
6 comments:
When the Luxon government announced a shake up of the supermarkets, I predicted the nz supermarket duopoly would use their illicit huge profits to fund a regular stream of media stories on how they aren't bad guys.
I must admit I expected these nonsense articles from Heather, not Ryan.
If Ryan was an honest reporter he would report the profitability of the nz duopoly compared to international benchmarks.
Anyone who shopped in the US of Europe knows nz supermarket prices are extortionate.
The only worrying aspect of the supermarket shake up is Nicola is in charge.
The same Nicola who let that other NZ wallet raiding industry, banks off the hook by sponsoring a retrospective bill which stopped the banks paying back fees they stole off their customers.
The cost will just get loaded onto the pricing. Actually the predicted cost, plus 10% for certainty, will be loaded onto the shelf price.
I have worked with one of the members of the duopoly over the past 15 years, mainly around pricing and fulfilment technology. Having seen what I have seen, I believe that in this case Hanlon's Razor applies - "never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity." They certainly use sharp practices elsewhere in the business, but I'd say in this case they are just clumsy.
I haven’t noticed incorrect labelling (& I always check), but what I do know they do is often change the advertised price during the week.
Once upon a time, new specials / this week’s prices were posted on Mondays & set for the week, now what is Monday’s price may change again - often Weds-Sat, with Sat prices, especially for fruit & veges & the bigger discounted packaged food, often being more expensive on Sat than say Weds.
Also, Ryan clearly doesn’t do much supermarket shopping as Foodstuffs almost always price their goods with 9 on the end (so you pay more if you pay in cash due to rounding) & never with a 5, & Woolworths’ pricing usually ends in a 0.
And yes, they are the bad guys. They’re constantly hiking up the price of goods we know they have often had in their distribution centres for a good year.
Until we get a decent big third player with some real teeth into the market, like Lidl or Aldi, nothing will change.
Ms Willis is neither financier nor economist....a political construct with dubious credibility. She probably thinks she is fooling people.
To Anon July 24 @ 9:58AM - we have had a "third player" attempt to set up a Supermarket chain, NZ owned business, but found just how the "monopoly board" worked when it came to the 'tactics' used by both Woolies, more so Foodstuffs - when it came to sourcing product. There was no support, then from any public let alone Govt of the day.
And do not expect any -
- Australian business to come across the ditch
- or the English - for both the Legal & financial issues (and potential lack of Govt support) in trying to set up a business in NZ is not worth the the hassle.
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