Consumer NZ calls for crackdown over supermarket pricing errors

Tuesday, 22 July 2025

Consumer NZ has launched a new petition pushing for accurate pricing and tougher penalties for supermarkets.

The watchdog launched its Price it right campaign on Tuesday after shoppers’ complaints of misleading pricing and overcharging at the checkout.

Consumer NZ was calling on the Government to mandate a supermarket pricing accuracy code that would have clear rules for product pricing, as well as “meaningful penalties and automatic compensation for consumers when supermarkets get it wrong”.

“Too often shoppers are charged more at the check-out than what’s shown on the shelf, or they’re misled in some other way,” chief executive Jon Duffy said.

“While pricing errors may seem minor on an individual basis, they add up when multiplied across the population. This isn’t OK, particularly at a time when people are struggling to pay their bills,” Duffy said.

The campaign aimed to amend the Fair Trading Act with clear pricing rules for supermarkets, which would be required to automatically compensate shoppers, for example, when checkout prices didn’t match the shelf price or if an advertised discount didn’t offer a genuine saving.

The petition comes after the Commerce Commission laid criminal charges against Woolworths NZ and two Pak’nSave stores for misleading pricing after Consumer NZ filed a formal complaint over “hundreds” of consumer complaints.

In response to the petition, Finance Minister Nicola Willis said in a statement that she had contacted supermarkets last month regarding the prosecution.

“Last month I wrote to the major supermarket chains underscoring my concerns about their pricing practices following Commerce Commission prosecutions of Foodstuffs North Island and Woolworths,” Willis said.

“In response, I have received undertakings from both those chains as well as Foodstuffs South Island.

“They have all told me that they have either refreshed or introduced new policies that entitle shoppers to both a full refund and to keep a product if they are overcharged, will advertise their refund policies so consumers are aware of their rights; and are investing in better systems and staff training to ensure fairer pricing for consumers,” she said.

Willis said the Grocery Commissioner Pierre van Heerden would continue monitoring supermarket behaviour “including ensuring that any breaches of the Fair Trading Act are prosecuted”.

She said she and Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Scott Simpson were looking into whether penalties under the Fair Trading Act should be stiffened to incentivise large companies like supermarkets to “do the right thing”.

A Foodstuffs spokesperson told The Post in a statement that it was investing in pricing systems and electronic shelf labels to prevent errors.

“Our policy is that if a customer is overcharged, they get a refund of that product and get to keep the product. We’ve also strengthened staff training and store processes to ensure pricing is clear, accurate, and fair,” they said.

“We take pricing accuracy seriously and want every customer to shop with confidence.”

Meanwhile a spokesperson for Woolworths NZ said the company was providing customers with full refunds who had been overcharged and could keep the product.

“We know how important it is that all of our tickets are accurate and the prices we advertise are the prices customers are charged at the checkout.

“We have over 3.5 million transactions in our stores each week, and sometimes errors do occur,” the spokesperson said.

Consumer NZ campaigns manager Sahar Lone said the response from supermarkets suggested that existing pricing policy was sufficient to address pricing concerns,

“In reality, supermarket pricing errors top the list of complaints we receive so something’s not adding up,” Lone said.

“Given supermarkets’ excessive profits, we believe they are well resourced to prioritise sorting out pricing and promotional activity, and that might help restore diminishing public trust in the supermarket sector.”

Consumer NZ research showed 62% of consumers noticed pricing errors at supermarkets in the past year.

“This isn’t just the occasional mistake – it’s an ongoing systemic problem that’s adding to the pain people are feeling at the check-out with food prices that are already too high,” Duffy said.

On top of a mandatory pricing code, Consumer NZ was calling for automatic compensation for overcharged shoppers and tougher penalties and infringement notice powers to deter misleading pricing and promotions.

“It’s already illegal for businesses to mislead consumers about prices, but the current law is not forcing supermarkets to up their game,” Duffy said.

Consumer NZ was also calling on the Government to mandate the disclosure of consumer rights.

“We’re not asking for much – just fair and accurate pricing that consumers can trust,” Duffy said. “It’s a simple step that would make a real difference.”