How supermarkets are using 'rip-off' loyalty pricing practices as they bump prices higher days before offering 'discounts' By Lucy Evans, Money Reporter Published: 01:32 BST, 22 August 2024 | Updated: 01:38 BST, 22 August 2024 e-mail View comments Boots and Superdrug are among the worst shops for using 'rip-off' loyalty pricing practices, as they bump prices higher days before offering 'discounts', a new report has warned. Beauty retailers and supermarkets, including Sainsbury's and Tesco , have been accused by consumer group Which? of using their loyalty card schemes to artificially hike prices for non-loyalty shoppers. An analysis of more than 12,000 products found a number of items that were priced more expensive than previously despite being marketed as loyalty promotion deals.
Loyalty card schemes appear to offer good value for money, as shoppers can build points and access discounted prices. But more than half of shoppers believe non-member prices are higher than the usual prices for products at a certain store, a survey has found. Beauty retailers and supermarkets, including Sainsbury's and Tesco , have been accused by consumer group Which? of using their loyalty card schemes to artificially hike prices for non-loyalty shoppers Supermarkets have previously come under fire for the schemes, which offer lower prices to customers who sign up, but punish those who cannot or do not wish to.
The new report has found that prices for some 649 items at Boots were raised for non-.