Consumer NZ's latest supermarket price survey has thrown into question the value of 'specials' at New Zealand supermarkets.
The survey studied prices of 30 popular grocery items over a seven-week period at Countdown, New World and Pak'nSave.
Consumer NZ chief executive Sue Chetwin said more than half the products surveyed were regularly on promotion, which raised questions over whether the specials were actually saving consumers any money.
Items regularly marked down included household staples such as bread, butter, coffee, jam, yoghurt, pasta, dishwashing liquid and shampoo.
"It's around those staples which people are picking up every week, [where] the price they're paying may be the actual price, rather than a discount," said Ms Chetwin.
Consumer NZ has called for regular price monitoring to ensure prices are not misleading and that consumers get a fair deal.
"I think the supermarkets and some of these big-box retailers have been able to get away with it because nobody's really looking at it," said Ms Chetwin.
Foodstuffs (Pak'nSave and New World) and Progressive Enterprises (Countdown) have both ended up on the Commerce Commission's roll of the most complained-about traders for pricing practices.
Ms Chetwin said stores must be offering a genuine deal when advertising special offers.
"If the savings aren't real, retailers risk breaching the Fair Trading Act."
Newshub.
