Supermarket unit prices

We all love a good bargain, but are they easy to spot? When you look at the headline prices on the shelves it can be easy to get confused about which item represents better value. 

Do you go for the bananas that cost 99p per bunch, or the ones priced at 68p per kilogram? Should you get a 'buy one get one free' on posh crisps, or is it cheaper to buy two bags of supermarket own-brand ones?

Shops are required to display a unit price for food which, in theory, lets you compare the price of two items like for like to work out which is the best value. However, the law about how this has to be shown can be very confusing, leaving many people likely to be stumped in the supermarket.

Supermarket unit price confusion

We sent our researchers to find out just how supermarkets display the unit price on foods and found it can be difficult to compare them. Unit pricing should be a great tool for budget-conscious consumers, but these confusing labels, made it difficult to spot the bargains? Explore our unit pricing photo gallery.

The unit pricing problem

We found five common problems with supermarket unit pricing:

1. The unit price can be very small and difficult to see.
2. Retailers do not always give the unit price when they should.
3. The unit price does not have to be shown for promotions, such as multi-buys.
4. Fruit and vegetables frequently display the price per item or per Kg making it impossible to compare.
5. Different units are used for varieties of the same product (eg. per 100g and per Kg).

What Which? wants

It should be easy to walk into a supermarket and see at a glance which product is the cheapest. Which? is calling for supermarkets and the government to improve the way the unit price is displayed for many foods. No one should need to get a calculator or a magnifying glass out to work out which product represents the best value.

We'd like to see:

• prominent unit pricing on all food - a clear label that's easy to read
• consistent unit pricing - all foods to give the unit price by kilogram or litre
• multi-buys and promotions to show the unit price.

Do you want to see clearer unit pricing in supermarkets? If so - please pledge your support here and let us know which supermarket you shop you at most often. The more people who tell us that they want to see unit pricing improved, the more likely it is we will be able to persuade supermarkets to change their practices.

Get involved

As well as signing the pledge, you can share you pictures or views on confusing unit pricing. Tweet us @whichaction to send us your photo via email. We'll add the best of the bunch to our gallery. Try to include both the product and pricing labels in one photo, and ensure the image is a high enough resolution to be legible.

Guidelines for submitting photos

1. Photos submitted should be your own and original and comply with the Which? user generated content terms.

2. In submitting a photo(s), you grant Which? a perpetual, royalty free licence to reproduce, modify, adapt and publish the photo(s) as we decide. As the photographer, you will retain the copyright in your photo(s) and can continue to use them as you wish.

3. If we choose to use your photo(s), we'll add your image to our online Flickr gallery, and as such, your images are subject to Flickr/Yahoo's terms of service.

4. By sharing your photos with us, this confirms your acceptance of the Which? user generated content terms and the Flickr terms of use.