A caped calculator character called Unit Man appears soon in supermarkets and grocery catalogues across Australia to help consumers better understand unit pricing.
Unit pricing is a labelling system that helps shoppers more easily compare the price of products of different sizes and brands by showing prices per standard unit of measurement such as by volume or by weight. For example, laundry detergent in a 2.5 litre bottle priced at $7.62 will have a unit price per litre of $3.05.
"Unit Man has been developed to capture consumer attention and encourage shoppers to make the most of unit pricing, which makes it quicker and easier to compare the price of products across all sizes and brands," Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chairman Graeme Samuel said today.
Unit Man will start to appear in grocery catalogues and online in early November. Consumers will also see Unit Man at some check out screens in the lead-up to 1 December when unit pricing becomes compulsory for supermarkets with a floor space greater than 1000 square metres that sell a minimum range of food-based groceries.
"Many consumers are likely to have some familiarity with unit pricing as it has been progressively rolled out across product ranges in the large grocery retail stores."
The pricing initiative arose out of the ACCC's 2008 Grocery Inquiry. It will provide greater transparency to consumers about pricing and promote competition between retailers.
"Unit pricing will build on other activities to promote competition in the grocery sector including the recently announced ACCC agreement with Coles and Woolworths to phase out all restrictive provisions in supermarket leases."
Under that agreement both companies will not include restrictive provisions in any new supermarket leases and will phase them out of existing ones. A similar agreement is now being sought from other supermarket operators.
"Reducing barriers to retailers getting into the market through the abolition of restrictive provisions, together with empowering consumers to make well informed decisions at the checkout through unit pricing, goes to improving competition in the grocery sector at a range of levels, with Australians potentially paying lower prices as a result."
The ACCC appreciates the support from the grocery industry in the development and promotion of Unit Man, in the interests of consumers across the country.
For more information on unit pricing, go to www.accc.gov.au/unitpricing or call the Unit Pricing Hotline on 1300 746 245.