16th Oct 2015 05:50
LONDON (Alliance News) - The UK Department for Business, Innovation & Skills said on Thursday that it will look into ways to make supermarket price comparisons more simple for shoppers, part of the government's response to an investigation by the competition regulator.
The UK Competition and Markets Authority published a report in July on the super-complaint made by consumer group Which? which alleged pricing malpractice in the grocery sector. The CMA found there was not a systemic problem in the market, but did identify examples of particular pricing and promotional practices which had the potential to mislead or confuse consumers.
The BIS said it will launch a consultation later in the autumn to consider options for improving pricing by supermarkets, including measures to simplify existing unit pricing legislation in the UK. The CMA also said in its report that it intends to take action to remedy the issues it did find.
The UK's so-called Big Four supermarkets comprise Tesco PLC, J Sainsbury PLC, Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC, and Asda Ltd, owned by US giant Wal-Mart Stores.
"Shoppers need to be able to get the best deal and make comparisons easily so we will look at how we can make information on price as clear and as simple as possible. The government takes the Competition and Market Authority?s findings and recommendations seriously, and it is important that the supermarkets do too," said Nick Boles, the UK consumer minister.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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