An investigation by consumer watchdog Which? has uncovered supermarket special offers on fresh produce and other items that could mislead shoppers.
New government guidelines introduced in May state that before an item goes on offer, it should be at the higher price for 28 days in that store.
But undercover shoppers from Which? tracked prices for three months, and found some ‘offers’ lasted for the entire duration.
According to the trading standards officer who reviewed the results, blueberries at Waitrose were at the higher price for only two weeks before being sold at half price for six weeks, and Marks & Spencer cherries were sold as ‘half price’ but had been sold at the higher price for only 17 days, a month before the offer.
Not all offers broke the rules, said the trading standards officer, but some could still hardly be described as special. These included Sainsbury’s cherries that were sold at half price for weeks, with a sign saying they were at the higher price for seven days, and strawberries that were on offer at various supermarkets for the whole of our three-month investigation.
Products including bacon and wine were also implicated in the findings.
In light of the findings, Waitrose told Which? it would review its approach to special offers. A spokesman said: “It is never our intention to mislead customers, but to offer excellent value for money.”
Sainsbury’s said: “We always strive to meet the voluntary guidelines and would not at any time seek to mislead customers. [The Which?] report has highlighted a few incidents where signage had not been updated and training will be repeated to avoid this happening in future.”
M&S said it followed guidelines on promotions “wherever possible” and apologised over a mistake with the price tickets on bacon.
Tesco told Which? it had clear policies for following the guidelines, and all its offers were genuine.
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