John MacDonald: There's nothing special about supermarket specials

I love this idea the Commerce Commission and the Grocery Commissioner have come up with, of supermarkets giving us everyday low prices instead of the ever-changing, so-called “special prices”. 

The supermarket specials that really brass me off are the ones where you might see meat in one of the fridges, and they’ll have a sign showing the price per kilo.

That means absolutely nothing to me. Maybe there are some shoppers who know all the ins-and-outs of prices per kilo, but I’m not one of them. 

The other thing about specials is that, most of the time, it feels like the supermarkets are yelling “special special special” at me, but it doesn’t look like much of a special.

I’ll be the first to say that I’m in the lucky position of not having to rely on supermarket specials. That’s a financial thing, but it’s also because I’m no longer at a stage of life where there are three kids at home and where it’s not unusual to kiss goodbye to $400+ a week at the check-out.

But I’ve never been one of those people who buy their bananas at one place because they’re cheap and my mandarins somewhere else because their cheaper.

And, when I see and hear the ads about specials, they pretty much don’t register with me.

And it’s not just because I can afford to pay what I have to pay. And it’s not just because the supermarket shops are cheaper these days because there aren’t three kids living at home.

It’s also because I see supermarket specials in the same way I see cafes with signs outside saying “great coffee”. They can tell me what they want as much as they like, but whether I believe it or not is another thing.

The other week I went into Pak 'n Save and when I hit the fruit and veg section there was a sign telling me that the 99 cent broccoli heads were an amazing special.

I wasn’t that convinced because they seemed pretty small to me, but I grabbed a couple anyway.

But as I kept moving around the fruit and veg section, I saw another bin of broccoli heads —again with the sign saying 99 cents a head and “amazing special”— but these things were about twice the size of the smaller ones at the start of the fruit and veg section. 

What was that all about? 

And it’s little examples like that —as well as the one I mentioned earlier about specials being based on price per kilo— that demonstrate how much of a rort this whole “special” thing is.

So I agree with Grocery Commissioner Pierre van Heerden who is saying that doing away with specials and having everyday low prices instead would be more straightforward and transparent. 

He also thinks it would allow any new operators coming into the market to put real pressure on the existing supermarkets. I’m not as sold on that bit, because I don’t think there are any foreign supermarket companies interested in coming here.

But if he thinks that, that’s fine.

The only problem I’ve got with this idea is that it’s going to be voluntary —for now, anyway— whereas I think it should be compulsory.

The Commissioner says they’ll give the supermarkets a year or so to get with the programme, but I want to see this happening ASAP.

So does Consumer NZ. Its boss, Jon Duffy, says: “We know New Zealanders love a special. We also know there’s not much that’s special about supermarket specials.”

He’s spot on there.

He says: “Everyday low prices would benefit all shoppers, so would price transparency. Right now, it’s so hard to know what’s a fair price because the prices of certain goods fluctuate so much.”

And that’s the nub of it right there. If you go to the supermarket today and see all these signs saying special here, special there, all you can do is take their word that it somehow is a special.

And like the sheep most of us are, we think ‘aww, on special…I’ll get a few of those”. But how do we know we are actually getting the best deal?&

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Canterbury Mornings podcast with John McDonald
from news Talk ZB.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
You know, I love this idea that the Commerce Commission
and the Grocery Commission have come up with of supermarkets
giving us every day low prices instead of this nonsense
with the ever changing so called special prices. You know,
the special prices that really brass me off. For the
ones where you might be walking past a fridge and

(00:34):
there'll be some meat in the fridge and there'll be
a big sign it'll say such and such per kilo.
That's a real special. Trust us, it's a real deal.
Such and such per kilo means absolutely nothing to me.
I mean, maybe there are some shoppers you know all
the ins and outs of prices per kiler. You might
be one of them, but I'm not. The other thing

(00:56):
about specials at the supermarket is most of the time
it feels like the supermarkets are yelling special, special, special
at me. But it doesn't. You know, it doesn't look
like much of a special. I don't have a comparison
to know if it really is a special. Now I'll
be the first to say that I'm in the lucky
position of not having to rely on supermarket specials. That's

(01:19):
a financial thing, but it's also because I'm no longer
a stage of life where there are three kids at
home and where it's not unusual to Kis Kubay do
what four hundred plus marks a week at Pagans Safe
is doing the big shop. But even then, I've never
been one of those people who buy their bananas at
one place because they're cheap there, and then they head
down the road to get the mandarins because they're cheaper there.

(01:41):
And I've got to be honest. When I see and
when I hear the ads about specials at the supermarkets,
they pretty much don't register with me at all. And
it's not just because I can afford to pay one
I have to pay. And it's not just because the
supermarket shops are cheaper these days because there aren't three
kids living at home. It's also because I see supermarket

(02:03):
specials the same way I see cafes. You know, those
ones cafes were signs outside saying great coffee. You know.
They can tell me what they're like, tell me what
they want as much as they like, But whether I
believe it or not is another thing. So I don't
believe the great coffee signs, and I don't believe the
supermarket's telling me this is a great special. You've got
to buy it. You've got to buy it, you got

(02:23):
to buy it. I'll give you an example. The other week,
I went into Pack and Save on more house ave
and when I hit the fruit and vegie section, which
is you know, if you go there, that's pretty much
the first thing you hit. There was a bin with
a sign on it telling me that the broccoli heads
in the bin at ninety nine cents were an absolute bargain.

(02:43):
They were a steel I wasn't that convinced because I
thought they seemed pretty small than me. But I grabbed
couple anyway because I wanted some broccoli. But as I
kept moving around the fruit and vegie section, I saw
another bin of broccoli heads, again with the sign saying
ninety nine cents ahead, amazing special, take me home, You've
got to have this. But these broccoli heads were about

(03:04):
twice the size as the smaller ones at the start
of the fruit and veggi section. What was that all about?
Same price both on special to completely look different looking
broccoli heads. And it's little examples like that as well
as one I mentioned earlier about specials being based on
price per kilo. That demonstrate to me how much of

(03:25):
a wrought, how much of a wrought, this whole special
thing is. So I agree with Grocery Commissioner p Van Headon,
who was saying today that doing away with specials and
having every day low prices instead would be more straightforward
and much more transparent. He also thinks it would allow
any new operators coming into the market to put real

(03:45):
pressure on the existing supermarkets. Now I'm not as sold
on that, but because I actually don't believe that there
are any foreign supermarket companies interested in coming here, that
if he thinks that that's fine, he can think what
he wants. The only problem I've got with this idea
that the Commission and the Grocery Zar have come up
with is that it's going to be voluntary for now anyway,

(04:08):
whereas I think it should be compulsory. The Commissioner, he
was telling Mike this morning, and he's saying in the
news today that they're going to give supermarkets a year
or so to get with the program. But I want
to see this happening asap. So does consume in New Zealand.
It's Boss John Duffy. He's saying, quote, we know New
Zealanders love a special, but we also know there's not

(04:29):
much special about supermarket specials. And he's spot on there
isn't he. He says every day low prices would benefit
all shoppers. So would price transparency. He says, right now,
it's so hard to know what's a fair price because
the prices of certain goods fluctuate so much. And that's
the nub of it right there. If you go to
the supermarket today, we might go tonight. But whenever you

(04:54):
go to the supermarket next and you see all these
signs saying you're a special hair special there, all you
can do is take their word that it somehow is
special like the sheep most of us are, and we
go on special. I'll get a few of those, But
how do we know we are actually getting the best deal.
We don't. We've got no idea, which is why the

(05:17):
grocery Commissioner and the commerce commissioner I think the days
of the supermarket special should be numbered. I think so too.

Speaker 1 (05:24):
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