Sunday Rip Off
Shock for shoppers as survey reveals staggering price hikes in small format convenience stores
A new survey published today reveals how much more shoppers pay significantly more for the same products in small format stores compared to the larger supermarkets. Open Sundays, the group campaigning for the liberalisation of the Sunday trading laws, conducted the survey to mark the twentieth anniversary of the Sunday Trading Act, which prohibits larger stores from opening for more than six hours on a Sunday.
Open Sundays compared the price of a basket of goods between convenience stores and superstores in the UK. In the case of Tesco, prices were higher by an average of 11% in their ‘Metro’ stores compared to the superstore equivalent. Sainsbury’s hiked prices by an average 7% in their ‘Local’ stores.
In recent years, big supermarkets have invested heavily in smaller format convenience stores. This enables them to sell their goods to the public outside restricted hours on a Sunday at higher prices. Director of Open Sundays Adrian Pepper cited a 500g bag of Napolina pasta which was marked up at £2.19 in a Tesco ‘Metro’ store but only £1.00 in a nearby Tesco superstore, representing a price hike of 119%.
He commented:
“These findings show how some supermarkets are profiting from the current Sunday trading laws which are forcing people to pay more than they should have to.
“People should be free to shop where they want, when they want, and at prices which do not rip you off.
“If politicians are serious about addressing cost of living issues, they should start by cutting the cost of shopping on a Sunday.”
“If you pop out for a bottle of Echo Falls Chardonnay to have with your Sunday lunch it will cost you £10.99 in a Tesco Metro convenience store, compared to £6.99 in the Tesco superstore. That is a rip off.”
Last week five amendments to the Deregulation Bill were tabled by Philip Davies MP calling for the end to restrictions on Sunday trading.