New legislation has come in, meaning changes for anyone using Uk supermarkets including Morrisons, Asda, Waitrose, and Lidl
New rules which have just come into action mean supermarket shoppers should be more confident of prices(Image: Getty Images)
New legislation has come into effect affecting shoppers at the UK’s major supermarkets, including Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Aldi, Waitrose, and Lidl. Under the new rules, prices must be displayed clearly across all products, with standardised measurements designed to eliminate confusion, enabling customers to compare costs and better understand savings schemes.
The reforms have extended unit pricing requirements to a broader range of products, including cereals, pasta, dried fruits, detergents, cleaning products and cosmetics, with metric measurements needing to be standardised — per kilo, litre, metre — regardless of product size.
Certain practical exemptions apply to mixed product packages, such as gift hampers containing items typically sold by different measures, and deposit amounts must be excluded from displayed selling prices.
Where retailers offer varying prices for the same product — such as loyalty card discounts — they are required to clearly show both the standard price and the reduced price, with the conditions for obtaining the lower price displayed prominently near the product.
The changes are intended to improve price transparency and make comparison shopping easier, requiring retailers to review their pricing systems, provide staff training, and potentially redesign both physical and digital price displays. Alexa Lamont, Managing Associate, Knowledge Lawyer said: “The reforms are designed to enhance transparency and make it easier for shoppers to compare products across a wider range of goods. The additional preparation time will allow retailers to adapt their systems and processes to meet the new requirements when they come into effect.”
“One of the most substantial changes involves expanding the range of products that must display unit pricing alongside their selling price. The new rules will require unit pricing for additional categories of packaged goods, including cereals, pasta, dried fruits, detergents and cosmetics. This expansion means consumers will have better tools to compare value across a much wider range of everyday products. “
Under the updated regulations, where metric unit prices are shown, they must be presented using standard measurements: price per kilogram, litre, metre, square metre, or cubic metre, as appropriate. This obligation applies regardless of the actual size of the product.
The reforms introduce more rigorous standards governing how prices must be displayed: There are exemptions for mixed product packages recognising the complexity of certain retail offerings, and the new rules include practical exemptions. Retailers won’t be required to display a unit price for packages containing different items sold together, where some products in the package are typically sold by weight, such as cheese, others by volume, such as wine, or some at varying individual prices when purchased separately.
Ms Lamont added: “There are also reforms as to how retailers handle different pricing tiers, particularly loyalty card schemes. When retailers offer different prices for the same product – such as a standard price and a discounted price for loyalty card members- they must:
For example, if a retailer offers a product for £5 normally, but £4 with a loyalty card, both prices must be clearly shown alongside an explanation of the loyalty card requirement, positioned where customers can easily see it when considering the purchase.”
