If a retailer is not showing unit pricing SI 639 2002 who do you report it to?

Unit pricing

Unit pricing is a useful tool for comparing prices.

It is most useful when comparing food and grocery prices when products come in different size packages. The price for a product tells you how much you pay for an item. The unit price, however, tells you the price of a kg, litre, metre, square metre or cubic metre.

Unit pricing helps you compare costs of different brands and various sizes without doing complicated calculations.

The law, (SI 639 of 2002) sets down that unit prices must be displayed on or close to the item.

There are exceptions for traders who do not have equipment for printing shelf-edge labels or for point-of-sale scanning. The Regulations only apply to products being sold to the consumer.

By using unit pricing, you can easily compare the cost of any brand and any package size. Remember to compare only similar items. Unit pricing will not help you compare nutritional value or other factors you wish to consider, such as convenience and personal tastes.

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If a retailer is not showing unit pricing who do you report the matter to?

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How to contact us

The quickest way to get an answer to your query is to call our Consumer helpline on Lo-call 1890 432 432

You can also call us on (01) 402 5555 or fax us on (01) 402 5501
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Unit pricing

Some products are covered by "unit pricing" rules. Many products sold by groceries, supermarkets and shops are sold by weight, volume or measure, and unit pricing means you must display not only the product's actual selling price, but its unit price too.
The unit price is the price for a given quantity of the product (e.g. the price for a litre or kilo of the product).
Under the law you have to display both the selling price and the unit price on or near to the item. In practice this would be on the same shelf-edge label, with the selling price in the larger font and the unit price underneath.
For some goods the unit price refers to standard containers. For example the unit price for wine is the final price in euro, including VAT and all other taxes, for 75cl.
Exemptions to unit pricing

There are certain exceptions to the unit pricing rule:

• Where the selling price is not related to the quantity of that product being offered for sale. Examples would be fruit such as melons or vegetables such as turnips which are often sold by a fixed price rather than by weight
• Pre-packaged products not greater than 50 grams or 50 millilitres, such as small packets of sweets, crisps and popcorn
• Where the selling price has been reduced from the usual price on account of its damaged condition or the danger of its deterioration
• A multi-pack of different products, such as a Christmas hamper
• Food sold in restaurants, pubs, coffee shops, or other retail outlets where food can be eaten

If your shop doesn't have equipment for printing shelf-edge labels or for point-of-sale scanning, you only have to display the selling price. If you sell from a stall or other mobile sales unit, you are also exempt from having to show unit prices, apart from products you sell in bulk (see below).
Selling in bulk

All products sold in bulk have to be unit priced. Under the rules, products are sold in bulk where they are not pre-packaged, and when they are weighed or measured in the presence of the customer.
For example, vegetables can be sold loose, and can be selected and weighed by the customer or trader. Fresh meat which is not pre-packaged can also be selected by the consumer, and weighed by the butcher.
As it is impossible in these instances to show a selling price, you are not required to give one. But you must still display the unit price.

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ajapale said:

Are butchers exempt from the unit pricing regulation? Like mercman I often see 10 chicken fillets for €10 with no reference to the weight or average weight.

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JamesMorgan said:

If you are told that 10 chicken fillets cost €10, and 5 fillets cost €6, can you not make the comparison?

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ajapale said:

I have noticed that the pound shop style shop known as Dealz does not do unit pricing. I dont think its fair that these shops can sell milk etc and not showing unit prices while ordinary decent retailers such as Dunnes, Tescos, Supervalue, Lidl and Aldi all have to invest much time and energy to be compliant with the regulations.

Often when you calculate the unit price in Dealz it transpires to be poor value and dearer than the supermarktes!

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Secrets of Poundland Dispatches

[broken link removed]I recently watched programme (available on 4OD at the time of writing). The premise was the Poundland's use of pricing, packaging and in-your-face bargain labelling was persuading us to by certain products that were in fact more expensive per unit that in the local supermarket.
The programme tried to make the point that the most vulnerable sections of society, those on benefits or very low wages were being exploited by these 'deals' as they had little choice but to shop with these retailers. Whatever your thoughts on consumer choice, what was clear was Poundland is not a fledgling underdog but a sophisticated operator operating in a fragmented sector with plenty of profit still to be made.
I found the level of collaboration Poundland must have with its suppliers to be really interesting. Gone are the days where it would stock end of line products or oversupplied goods due for export. These days it has direct and close relationships with manufacturers of the big Consumer Products brands (Coke, Cadbury, Heinz, Nestle etc.) in order to produce pack sizes that can be sold for a pound with the right profit margin. This "re-formatting" is what allows Poundland to turn a profit with a fixed price of £1 even with inflation and rising input costs. Where Tesco is selling a 200g jar of Nutella the Poundland version might be 180g to allow it to sell it for a pound.

'Trick' packaging
The real secret of poundland is this ability to source re-engineered products to maintain margin - so you might get 7 packs of crisps in a family bag, whereas once you got 10. They also use non-standard sizes of popular products. The 800g loaf of bread is what we're all used to. Poundland gets Warburton to make it a special 600g loaf in order to sell it for a pound.
So what's the problem? The programme implied that this, combined with the heavy use of discount labelling e.g. "100% extra free", was misleading customers. It cited the example of eight bars of two-finger Kit-Kats for £1. These were sold with a large yellow banner around the multipack saying "5+3 bars, 60pc Extra Free". Apparently Asda were currently selling the same eight Kit-Kats for £1, too, but without the "60pc Extra Free" flash. It was also careful to say "There is no suggestion that Poundland is trying to mislead customers, and it points out that sizes are clearly printed on its products.", perhaps fearing a call from Poundland's lawyers!
This is the point where I'm tempted to say caveat emptor. But often we just don't bother to do the math, we just sling it in the basket - it's got a bright yellow label on it and it's a quid. How can it not be a bargain!
It's also true that Poundland did have a good number of deals that were genuinely better value than supermarkets. Its own research suggests it was cheaper than the big four supermarkets and Boots on 85 per cent of 246 identical products it tested this year. As with any retail business, your price and promotion mix is key to generating maximum profit for the shelf space you have available. If the lowest priced chocolate bars in the area get people through the door then they may also pick up the higher margin household cleaner you have on a floor display in the centre. Interestingly, unlike the supermarkets, Poundland says it hardly ever runs promotions as loss-leaders.

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