Searching for specials at the supermarket has been hard-wired into most consumers’ grocery shopping DNA.
Each supermarket has its vocabulary for price promotions and specials. Pak’nSave shoppers are enticed by “Everyday Low” or “Extra-Low” deals. New World offers “Everyday Low Price” and “Super-Saver” specials. Woolworths shoppers are swayed by “Low Price” and “Special” ticket prices.
New World and Woolworths’ loyalty programme members can swipe their cards for “Club Deals” or “Member Prices”.
Consumer NZ investigation tracked a basket of 22 grocery items for 8 weeks at New World, Pak’nSave, and Woolworths stores in Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch to find out how often products were on special and whether specials were as “special” as the supermarkets would like consumers to believe.
Many items in the basket were routinely on special during the eight weeks. At Woolworths, 15 products were on special four or more times in each region. At New World Bishopdale in Christchurch, 17 items were on sale four or more times.
Pak’nSave’s specials varied more between stores. At Pak’nSave Papanui in Christchurch, most of the products (19) were on special half the time or more. But in the Wellington and Auckland Pak’nSave stores, only five (Wellington) or six (Auckland) products were routinely on special. Despite this, Pak’nSave was still the cheapest supermarket in these regions.
While genuine price promotions suit consumers' weekly budgets, some specials don’t deliver the savings the supermarkets try to convince consumers about. One supermarket’s special can also be another store’s regular price.
For example, at New World Hutt City, Palmolive Dishwashing Liquid had a “Super-Saver” price of $2.79 and a “Club Deal” price of $2.99. At Pak’nSave Lower Hutt, the regular price ranges from $2.39 to $2.99, with no special applied.
At Pak’nSave Mt Albert, the regular price of a can of baked beans was $1.99, the same as the “Club Deal” or “Member Price” at the other two Auckland supermarkets surveyed.
Foodstuffs supermarkets are individually owned and operated and have the autonomy to set their prices, so price and promotion can vary from store to store, even within the same brand.
As a nation, New Zealanders spend more on products on promotion than consumers in comparable countries, such as Australia, Britain, Germany and France.
According to the Grocery Commissioner’s 2024 First Annual Grocery Report, supermarkets used pricing that made it difficult for consumers to accurately assess the value of competing offers.
Last year, Consumer NZ lodged a complaint with the Commerce Commission about misleading supermarket pricing and promotions.
The Grocery Commissioner’s report also supported an everyday pricing model to benefit consumers and ensure they get a good price. This model would be based on providing a constant price for products for an extended period instead of cycling between discounted and non-discounted prices.
Consumer NZ has long argued that the state of the supermarket sector in New Zealand has been significantly problematic.
While it was pleased the Grocery Commissioner’s first annual report highlighted the significant issues, it was also disappointed about the lack of improvement since the Retail Grocery Market Study was released in 2022.
