What the ACCC does
- We enforce the Unit Pricing Code, a mandatory industry code.
What the ACCC can't do
- We don’t resolve individual complaints about unit pricing.
On this page
About unit pricing
Businesses selling groceries often show a unit price next to the total selling price of a product.
Unit pricing helps consumers:
- compare prices of similar types of products
- find the best value for their money when buying groceries.
The unit price shows how much the product costs using a standard unit of measurement.
The standard unit of measurement used will depend on the type of product. Units may be by weight, volume, length, area or number.
Some examples of standard units are:
- beef: price per kilogram
- laundry detergent: price per litre
- avocados: price per avocado.
Types of businesses that must display unit prices
There are rules about which businesses must display unit prices, where, how, and for what products.
Most supermarkets, large grocery stores, and online grocery stores must display unit pricing, in store, online and in advertising.
Smaller stores and stores that don’t sell a wide range of groceries don't have to display unit pricing, but they can choose to.
There's more information about these rules in the Unit Pricing Code.
Examples of unit pricing
Example of unit pricing for a single item
In this example, the unit of measurement for the item is litres.
The first container of laundry detergent is better value. Although the selling price is more, the price per litre is less.
Example of unit pricing when there is more than one measurement option
In this example, there is more than one option for unit of measurement. The retailer can sell the lemons at a cost per item or a cost per kilo.
They can display the unit price as $1.50 per lemon.
The retailer can also provide the average weight of a lemon as 80 grams and the unit price of $18.75 per kg.
Types of products that must be unit priced
Unit prices must be shown for most everyday grocery items like food, drinks, cleaning and personal products.
Some products, including hardware, appliances and clothing, don't need to display a unit price. These exemptions are listed in the Unit Pricing Code.
How unit pricing information should be displayed
The Unit Pricing Code contains specific rules about how prices need to be displayed.
Rules for quality and location of unit prices displayed
The code contains rules to make sure that unit pricing is accurate, clear, easy to locate and easy to understand.
There are 4 main rules that apply anywhere that unit pricing is displayed. The unit price for a grocery item must be:
- prominent – it must stand out so that it is easily seen
- proximate – it must be close to the selling price for the grocery item
- legible – it must be easy to read
- unambiguous – the information must be accurate and its meaning must be clear.
Rules when 2 or more items are being offered
Unit pricing must be displayed where 2 or more of the same grocery items are offered for a single price.
Bundles of different types of grocery items don't require unit pricing.
Unit pricing is not required where similar items of different sizes and weights are sold at a single price.
We also have a video explaining how unit pricing works in practice.
Video transcript
PRESENTER: We all want value for money. But sometimes when we're shopping for the simplest items, it's difficult to know exactly what product is offering real value. The difficulty is that we can't make direct comparisons.
We have to try and compare one item at one price with another which is sold in a different quantity, a different volume, a different measure. You almost need a calculator to work out which one really is the best buy. That's where the unit pricing code comes in.
The code, which is enforced by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the ACCC, requires some grocery retailers and online grocery retailers to display a unit price on labels and in advertising.
So what is a unit price? Unit pricing means that as well as the total selling price, the retailer will show a unit price based on a common unit which might be per 100 millilitres or per 100 grams. Fruit and vegetables might be per item or per kilogram. Beverages per litre.
Milk's a really simple illustration of how it works and benefits the shopper. In the dairy section you're confronted by containers of all different sizes, you just want a bottle of milk. Is it better value to buy the large three litre container than if you buy a single litre bottle? Unit pricing means that the tickets compare prices in a way that answers the question. The cost per litre is shown for all of the packaging options.
When the same items are bundled you get the same question. For example, if a supermarket advertises five 400 gram tins of soup for $8 the unit price of 40 cents per 100 grams must be displayed in any catalogue or in store signage where the selling price is stated. This means that you'll be able to compare this special price with the unit prices for all the other soup on the shelf.
Unit pricing is perhaps the most useful with those items that come in odd measures and usually elaborate packaging. Cosmetics and toiletries are a good example. You can't always tell how much of something you're buying, when the packages of bottles maybe made of thick glass inside boxes. And when you look to find out how much you're actually buying, it might be 26 millilitres here and 31 there. How is a shopper meant to compare for value? Here, unit pricing standardises the price. It shows you how much you're paying for each 10 ml or 10 grams of the product or per item included in the packet.
So, throughout the store unit pricing can help the shopper make informed decisions about value for money.
Small grocery retailers such as supermarkets with the floor space of less than 1000 square meters can chose whether to unit price their stock. If they do opt in, they have to unit price all of their groceries.
Some merchandise is exempt from unit pricing. Certain mark-down products, electrical items and stationary are examples.
You can find out a lot more about the unit pricing code on the ACCC website and from ACCC publications.