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Elizabeth Cheung

The displayed and checkout prices for some discounted items in supermarkets have been found to vary by as much as 90 per cent.
And the difference isn't just upwards - a third of the mispriced items found in a Consumer Council study were lower than the label price by as much as half.
The council bought 252 discounted items from 15 supermarkets in June and July, of which 18 had a price discrepancy.
Twelve cost more than the shelf price by between 4.2 and 90 per cent. In one case, the shelf price for a bottle of red wine was HK$10 while the checkout price was HK$19.
The other six items cost 5.6 to 50.3 per cent less than the shelf price.
The council urged retailers to adopt measures to ensure fairness in transactions.
"If the price goes up, the shelf price should be changed before the scanned price; if the price goes down, the scanned price should be adjusted before the shelf price," the council said.
Vice-chairman Philip Leung Kwong-hon said consumers could suffer a loss even if the checkout price was lower.
"If I knew the price was lower, I might want to buy several more of the item," he said.
Refunds were generally processed smoothly if the discrepancy was verified, with staff removing price tags from the shelves and refunding the difference.
But the council said complaints filed afterwards might be more difficult as the original price tags might have been replaced.
The council also criticised ambiguity in the "strike-through price"- a common tactic where a higher price is crossed out on the price tag.
Three supermarkets in the study did not specify clearly what the strike-through number represented. While two just labelled it the standard price, the other stated "standard price" in Chinese and "recommended retail price" in English.
One supermarket was found never to have sold the goods at the higher price, while the other two retailers had done so for only one to eight days.
"If the retailers misled consumers by showing a strike-through price [for which goods have] never been sold before, they run the risk of violating the Trade Descriptions Ordinance," Leung warned.
Council chief executive Gilly Wong Fung-han said its report had been submitted to the Customs and Excise Department. She said the council's random spot checks were not sufficient to show how widespread the practice was. Apart from more frequent checks, she urged retailers to draft price-setting guidelines based on overseas practices.
Wellcome said it had a set of detailed guidelines to "ensure the accuracy and clarity of price labels", and that its price information was set and displayed "according to the requirements of local regulations".
 


Discount prices in Hong Kong supermarkets vary wildly at the checkout

The study also found that strike-through prices - the supposed price of an item when not on sale - are often misleading. Photo: May Tse

The study also found that strike-through prices - the supposed price of an item when not on sale - are often misleading. Photo: SCMP Pictures

News

Hong Kong

Consumer Council study shows that discount price advertised at supermarkets can vary by up to 90 per cent from what is actually charged


The displayed and checkout prices for some discounted items in supermarkets have been found to vary by as much as 90 per cent.


Discount prices in Hong Kong supermarkets vary wildly at the checkout

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Consumer Council study shows that discount price advertised at supermarkets can vary by up to 90 per cent from what is actually charged

Consumer Council study shows that discount price advertised at supermarkets can vary by up to 90 per cent from what is actually charged