Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
The Great Flapjack Scandal at Sainsburys
The local Sainsbury is so full of BOGOFs (buy one get one free) and other, often specious, "OFFERS" that one could be forgiven for thinking you could come out of the store with more money than you went in with.
So much of their merchandising – AKA confusion marketing – seems aimed at disguising higher prices and frustrating price comparisons.
The best example of this I've seen is their flapjacks, near the far corner of the store. These used to be priced at £1 for six slices, in a plastic tray.
The company has managed to hold the price at £1 but, there's a big but: the contents are dramatically reduced. Where once there were six slices, now there are only three.
In effect, the price is nearly doubled.
In order to help disguise the extent of the value reduction, the three, slightly larger slices are now separated in a redesigned tray that features two ridges that space out the slices more widely. Less contents, more packaging, same price. Does this amount to deceit?
More generally, weights & measures (that aid price comparisons) on most products are as hard to find as ever, often in tiny print and/or are deeply hidden.
Tags for Forum Posts: Sainsburys, comparison, confusion, flapjacks, marketing, price
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Peter L. Bailey on
-
ooh you're cheeky Mr Fowler! Don't think Yasar Halim would call themselves 'artisan'! Although I just had to look up 'artisan' to make sure the pedant police didn't collar me...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artisan
.........Aaaand actually maybe Yasar Halim could be called artisan (which can include being a skilled manual worker making FUNCTIONAL items), but only in the way that any baker might be, whether they're 'trendy artisan', 'decorative artisan' or 'a person who makes things'. Which sort did you mean?
But I know I'm missing your point and I'm sorry. I will go to Y.Halim this weekend and see how much a loaf costs. Then we'll know.
-
Permalink Reply by Bethany Burrow Atherton on
-
A "normal" large (prob. 800g) loaf of bread at Yasar (like a bloomer-type thing) was £1.20 the last time I bought one there. The more unusual looking loaves are about the same price per loaf, but may be lighter.
-
-
So what did the poor ever do for us, Mr Fowler?
It is the duty of the Gentleman
To give employment to the Artisan.
And Yasar will sell your man the kneaded dough early in the morning if the Gentleman wants his butler to oversee the baking in his own downstairs.
-
Permalink Reply by Clive Carter on
-
Christopher you make many points I agree with, including the cost of the ingredients being only a small part of the POS price and the cost of cutting being only a tiny fraction of a penny (both these also argue the price ought to be the same).
The transport costs of an 800 gram loaf of medium-sliced should be close to the cost of an 800 gram loaf of thick-sliced. The weight is, or ought to be, the same.
I'm not sure there should be a difference in marketing: its the same product, with fewer slices. I'm not aware that the thicker version is (or has ever been) advertised separately. My impression is that consumers have known for some time that sliced bread can come in thin, medium and thick variants.
Why does the Sainsbury's double-deal price it at 8.7% more?
.
-
-
No, I'm not arguing here that there's a fair price for a loaf of bread.
Since its a staple, Satansbusy are likely to accept slimmer margins on bread than for most of their other lines. The special feature of bread (as with other big chains) is that this area is deliberately placed furthest from the entrance.
Nor have did I suggest that, unlike in other pricing, Sainsbury are being underhand: as I said above, the price is clearly marked on the shelf (could it be a mistake?)
I simply find it bizzare and remarkable that, where the only difference between the items is the number of slices, it is priced nearly 10% differently.
(I'm aware there is competition for Sainsbury, especially Lidl. Although Lidl's range is much more limited, where there are comparable items, Sainsburys is roughly 25% more expensive.)
-
-
Billy the bread location was a second or third order point, merely to illustrate that Satansbusy (normally) thinks carefully about this staple good (with a relatively low margin) - and to oblige people to pass aisles of higher margin items.
Since no one's offered a plausible explanation, I'm now thinking that the peculiar discrepancy is either a mistake or – in line with the original theme of this thread - its another example of confusion marketing with the aim of keeping the typical busy shopper off-balance.
-
Permalink Reply by Abi on
-
This just in: apparently, the loaves selling at £2.50 for two were actually from a premium Hovis range, not the same as the 'core range' one you saw on sale at £2.30 - they look similar. It's likely that the thick version of this had sold out, leading you to think that the more expensive loaf was pricier because of its thickness.
If not, they labelled it wrongly!
-
-
-
The thick version did sell out for a period, but this Sainsbury double-deal is still on and the idea that the thickly sliced loaves are from any premium range can be 'discounted'.
There was never a reference on the shelf labels to "premium" range and indeed the descriptions were and are identical except for the thickness of the slices (same weight, remember).
Neither the thin sliced nor the thick sliced are Hovis premium range: they are both bog standard or "core range" and anyone can see this for themselves.
-
-
Permalink Reply by Christopher Fowler on
-
Well, Billy, if it is all the fault of "Elf and Safety" that the baked goods be at the end of the store, well away from the front door and nasty germs brought in by dirty customers, then why does Sainsburys have displays of cakes, chocolate chip muffins, etc at the very front of the store, right by the door? Could it be that (a) there's a big mark-up on these goods, while the mark-up on bread is tiny, and, (b) that if they put them there they offer temptation to the shopper at the point of entry to the store? And as for them having a "bakery", you should go behind the curtain and look. All they do is heat up frozen ready-made bread and similar products. If you want a real baker, go to one of the real ones on Green Lanes, like our Yasar Halim. Of course, the weight of those loaves of bread will be "perhaps probably maybe" 800 g, and they still cost 1.20, while Sainsburys El Cheapo bread costs 50p. And as for people making scathing comments directed against the poor: try living on a state pension before you sneer! I know there are plenty of well-paid yuppies on this forum, more interested in discussing the rising value of their properties at dinner parties than the price of bread, or the problems of poorly paid people putting food on the table, but think of someone other than your "artisan-loving" selves for once!
-
-
The psychology of supermarket layout really deserves a separate thread and is IMO a separate subject from weights, measures and deceptive pricing and deceptive packaging.
Much thought goes into layout as has been revealed in a few docos on telly. The main themes are, put staples near the back and, in order to give an impression to the whole store of freshness, goodness and wholesomeness, put fruit and vegetables close to the entrance.
Booze and batteries tend to go nearer the tills where the operators can keep an eye on them.
It's a kind of game they play and I think its legitimate. The consumer needs to try to be as canny as the managers.
I happen to think that its fair for supermarkets to craft their layout to extract the maximum profit from customers - but that legitimacy ends at the point of weights and measures and prices.
-
-
-
Safeways used to have their bread by the front door, I'm pretty sure of it! Or, at least, it was often laid out in a way that forced you to walk through the lovely baking smells before you attempted not to buy everything else in the store.
I do love a bit of retail anthropology.
-
© 2024 Created by Hugh.
Powered by
