Supermarkets 'to review pricing and promotions' following Which? super-complaint

Announcing the end of its investigation, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said that any changes once implemented would "give shoppers increased confidence that they are getting a genuine discount and help them to compare the discounted price with the previous higher price". In particular, it had agreed specific changes with Asda, the CMA said.

Michael Grenfell, the CMA's executive director of enforcement, said that the CMA had found evidence of "some promotional practices that could mislead shoppers" during its investigation, although supermarkets "generally take compliance seriously".

"We welcome the commitment we have received from Asda as well as the engagement from other supermarkets, and expect them all to ensure that their practices are not misleading and that shoppers are better informed and able to choose the products that most suit their needs," he said.

The CMA said that it had not made any specific findings on whether particular supermarkets' pricing or promotional practices had breached consumer law.

Last year, the CMA ruled out carrying out a formal investigation of supermarket pricing practices in response to a "dossier" of evidence submitted by Which? that the consumer body said showed evidence of poor pricing practices by supermarkets. Instead, it recommended that the government look at ways to simplify and clarify the laws governing promotions. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has since confirmed that it intends to review the legislation and guidance governing so-called 'unit pricing'.

The CMA also contributed to the consultation process on a revised Pricing Practices Guide (PPG) as part of its response to the super-complaint. The PPG is a government-backed document that recommends good practices for retailers to refer to when giving consumers information about pricing in various situations, although it has no legal force. The Chartered Trading Standards Institute, which is the member body for trading standards professionals, is currently developing a revised version of the guide.

Which? is one of five 'designated bodies' which are permitted to submit a super-complaint to the UK competition authorities by the 2002 Enterprise Act. An authority that receives a super complaint must respond setting out how it plans to deal with the complaint within 90 days.