Big changes on all shelves and bills being made which are aimed at stopping confusion at big chains including Morrisons, Aldi and Lidl
New rules which have just come into action mean supermarket shoppers should be more confident of prices and deals(Image: Getty)
New laws are now in force impacting customers to the main supermarkets in teh UK including Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Aldi, Waitrose, and Lidl. Under the changes prices have to be marked in a clear faship across items, with standard measurements to prevent confusion and allowing shoppers to compare costs and understand savings initiatives better.
The reforms have expanded unit pricing requirements to other products including cereals, pasta, dried fruits, detergents, cleaning products and cosmetics, and metric measurements need to be standardised – per kilo, litre, metre – regardless of product size.
Practical exemptions apply to mixed product packages like gift hampers containing items normally sold by different measures) and deposit amounts must be excluded from displayed selling prices.
Where retailers offer different prices for the same product, such as loyalty card discounts, they must clearly display both the standard price and the discounted price, with conditions for obtaining the lower price shown prominently near the product.
The changes aim to enhance price transparency and comparison shopping, requiring retailers to review pricing systems, train staff, and potentially redesign physical and digital price displays.
Alexa Lamont, Managing Associate, Knowledge Lawyer said: “The reforms are designed to enhance transparency and make it easier for shoppers to compare products across a wider range of goods. The additional preparation time will allow retailers to adapt their systems and processes to meet the new requirements when they come into effect.
“One of the most substantial changes involves expanding the range of products that must display unit pricing alongside their selling price. The new rules will require unit pricing for additional categories of packaged goods, including cereals, pasta, dried fruits, detergents and cosmetics. This expansion means consumers will have better tools to compare value across a much wider range of everyday products. “
Under the new regulations, when metric unit prices are displayed, they must be shown using standard measurements: price per kilogram, litre, metre, square metre, or cubic metre, as appropriate. This requirement applies regardless of the product’s actual size.
The reforms introduce stricter standards for how prices must be presented:
- Legibility and font requirements: Prices must be clearly legible using fonts that are clear and of reasonable size.
- Delivery charges: Any delivery charges must be unambiguous, easily identifiable, and clearly legible.
There are exemptions for mixed product packages recognising the complexity of certain retail offerings, the new rules include practical exemptions. Retailers won’t need to show a unit price for packages that contain different items sold together, where some items in the package are normally sold by weight, like cheese, some by volume, like wine, or some at different individual prices when bought separately.
Ms Lamont added: “There are also reforms as to how retailers handle different pricing tiers, particularly loyalty card schemes. When retailers offer different prices for the same product – such as a standard price and a discounted price for loyalty card members- they must:
- Clearly display both prices
- Explain the conditions required to obtain the lower price
- Show these conditions prominently near the product
- Apply this requirement to both selling prices and unit prices where applicable
For example, if a retailer offers a product for £5 normally, but £4 with a loyalty card, both prices must be clearly shown alongside an explanation of the loyalty card requirement, positioned where customers can easily see it when considering the purchase.”
