In many supermarkets and drugstores, there is a problem with the basic price indication: the basic price is not legible, missing or inconsistent. This is evident from an AK inspection at ten shops in Vienna, the Vienna Workers’ Chamber announced. For them, the fundamental problem is that the legal rules are unclear. That is why the AK demands changes to the Price Labeling Act.
At Lidl, AK Wien used a basic price per liter for some bottled beers instead of per 500 milliliters. At Hofer, the basic price display was wrong for jam and was occasionally missing for chocolate.
In a store, the price can only be read with a magnifying glass
The AK Vienna sees another problem in the font size: the majority of supermarkets and drugstores have marked the basic prices with a font size of 4 to 4.5 millimetres. Sometimes it was slightly below, but still legible – like Lidl and Hofer. But with Müller you need a magnifying glass, the AK noted. Because the font size did not exceed 2 millimeters. So that is not in accordance with the law.
Basic price labeling often not uniform
In most shops the basic price indication was sometimes missing or incorrect, for example with liquid soap in pieces or per 100 pieces instead of per liter or 100 milliliters as required by law. And in some stores, the testers noticed that many products were not uniformly priced. There are often several variants within a product group, for example detergent per litre, per wash or per item.
By law, the basic price must be per liter or per wash. But with the prices quoted, a comparison is difficult, says the Viennese Workers’ Chamber.
Not required for all products
There are no statutory basic prices for toilet paper, cotton pads, aluminum foil, dental floss, etc. Nevertheless, some retail chains indicate the basic price for toilet paper, for example, but then per piece (DM), per 100 pieces (Müller) or per sheet (Lidl).
Unfortunately, the recording law is vague
“Unfortunately, the result is not satisfactory. Given the price increases, a simple price comparison is particularly important,” said Gabriele Zgubic of AK Verbraucherschutz. “Unfortunately, the Price Labeling Act is vague – there are no clear legal rules on the font size of the base price. There are often several variants of the basic price labeling for one product, such as liters or 100 milliliters.” The font size is based on a voluntary agreement between social partners and retailers from 2009.
The AK is demanding improvements in the Basic Price Indications Act: this includes a minimum font size of 4 millimeters for the basic price marking; Only one variant per product group for the basic price indication (e.g. per litre) and an extension of the basic price indication to more products, e.g. kitchen rolls, handkerchiefs, toilet paper, cotton pads, cotton swabs, tampons, sanitary napkins, non-alcoholic beer.
Several stores were controlled by AK
In November 2022, the AK checked the basic price indication at 10 Viennese drugstores, supermarkets and discounters (Bipa, DM, Müller, Hofer, Lidl, Penny, Billa, Billa Plus, Spar and Interspar). 30 drugstore product groups (such as shampoos, toothpaste, etc.) and 30 food and drink groups (such as flour, cheese, beer, etc.) have been investigated.
The AK had asked the retail chains for a written statement, according to the AK Vienna. All promised improvements to varying degrees.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
