Supermarket loyalty schemes offer genuine savings for shoppers, according to the competition regulator following an investigation into claims of price manipulation.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said its review of 50,000 loyalty priced products showed that 92% offered genuine savings against the usual price.
That was despite 55% of shoppers thinking “usual” prices were raised to make loyalty deals more appealing, it said.
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The watchdog’s report found “very little evidence” of supermarkets inflating their ‘usual’ prices to make loyalty promotions seem like a better deal but it did call on firms to bolster access to their schemes.
It was asked to investigate by the consumer group Which?.
Which? had complained that deals were “not all they were cracked up to be” but chains declared that the group’s own report on the issue had failed to take the effects of inflation into account.
The CMA’s report was published at a time of year when supermarket chains tend to scrap for market share by offering discounts to lock in customers for their Christmas grocery shopping.
There is a chance, however, that stretched consumer budgets will benefit to only a limited extent this year as the retail sector faces pressure to save money and protect profits through looming leaps in costs arising from the budget.
Major employers, such as grocers, have warned that hikes to employer National Insurance contributions from April will hurt jobs and investment while the rate of inflation has risen again above the Bank of England’s target.
Retail industry…
