Tesco changes how it shows Clubcard prices after row

Tesco is changing how it displays prices on its Clubcard deals in stores and online following criticism from the consumer organisation Which?.

The price per unit will now be displayed alongside the total price.

The move comes after Which? said the UK's biggest supermarket could have been breaking the law over how it displayed Clubcard prices, making it tough for shoppers to compare deals.

The supermarket challenged the claims, but has now said it will make changes.

"This is something that we have been planning to do for some time," said Tesco's UK chief executive Jason Tarry, who said there were 8,000 Clubcard offers every week.

"Over the coming weeks these changes will appear in all our stores, as our colleagues update millions of price labels on the shelf edge. We will also be adding these unit prices to our Clubcard Prices deals online," he wrote in a blog, external.

Rocio Concha, Which? director of policy and advocacy, said that prices needed to be clear when some consumers were struggling to afford meals.

"The lack of unit pricing on Tesco's Clubcard offers was a glaring omission and we warned that this approach could be breaking the law last summer, so it's good to see the nation's largest supermarket stepping up to do the right thing by making this important change," she said.

"We look forward to seeing this rolled out quickly across all stores and online so shoppers can benefit as soon as possible."

The Tesco Clubcard is a loyalty scheme that offers members discounted prices on products.

As reported by the BBC in June last year, Which? reported the supermarket to the regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), pointing to prices of ketchup as an example of unclear pricing.

Which? had said Tesco's decision not to display unit pricing on its Clubcard offers could be breaking the law.

According to competition rules, unit prices could be seen as "material information" which most people would need in order to make an informed decision about how to get the best value from what they are buying.

In its response at the time, Tesco said it complied with all current rules and called Which?'s claims "ill-founded".

Sarah Taylor, food and beverage regulation partner at Keystone Law, said that while Tesco's move to start unit pricing on its Clubcard deals was welcomed by campaigners, it might prove difficult for some products.

"Products with a very short shelf-life and 'meal deals' where the promotion applies when purchasing a combination of different products may present particular challenges," she said.

Food prices recorded their first monthly fall in more than two years in January, but the cost of a weekly shop still remains much higher than two years ago.

Falls in prices for food items such as crackers, cake and crisps helped offset the rise in electricity and gas costs to keep overall annual inflation - the rate at which prices rise - unchanged at 4%. Cooking sauce and instant coffee costs also eased.

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