Our reader Liam contacted us to sound a warning about the pricing at Tesco:
I do most of my shopping in Tesco, and despite their recent attempts to portray themselves as a Lidl-style discouter, they’ve actually been steathily raising the prices of a fair few products. Some examples:
- Tesco Italian Meats selection – was 2.89, now 3.99
- Tesco Hummus – was 0.99, now 2.29
- Tesco Ultra Kitchen Paper (6) – was 4.79, now 5.94
- Johnsons baby wipes – was 3.69, now 4.19
These are just a few examples of products I buy (or used to buy), I’m sure theres loads more. In some cases they have hidden the price rise by bringing in a short term offer at the same time (eg – the hummous was 2 for €3 for a while, but has now reverted to the regular, increased price). Tesco – giving with one hand, while taking with the other.
This was also covered in Pricewatch before Christmas, when a number of readers got in touch with Conor Pope to complain about sneaky price hikes at Tesco. Tesco are also notorious for a number of deceptive practices, such as:
- Sticking ‘low price’ stickers on items that are not reduced, and somtimes even when the price has been increased
- Displaying huge reduction announcements beside items that have only been reduced by a few cents, presumably in the hopes that shoppers just notice the sale offer and don’t bother checking the previous price. WAS €1.59. NOW €1.55.
- Displaying notices boasting that their prices are exactly the same as Dunnes and SuperValu, a practice that has always baffled me. (To be fair to Tesco, the other supermarkets do it too). Don’t these notices just reinforce the feeling that all the major supermarkets are ripping us off and it doesn’t matter where you go?
I rarely shop in Tesco, for all the above reasons really. Have you noticed stealthy increases in your local Tesco?