AIBU to be sceptical that Tesco will actually ditch those crappy 2 for 1 offers

[microfight]

and genuinely give us their best price for 1 item instead of forcing us to buy shed loads of stuff that we don't always have room to store or capacity to use. I just can't see them allowing us to buy only what we need at the best price can you?

Where did they say they were going to do that?

yeah they are

they are getting rid of the double points to pay for it tho

Times today

Except they said something about doing that about a year ago, claiming that you'd get a voucher for the '2nd one free' or whatever the offer was, as a way to get people to not throw away so much food. And they never did that.

So I'll believe this when I see their prices go down!

Well if I don't pick up the free item I am effectively paying for everyone who does through the higher cost of my item and I resent that.
It is grossly unfair on single people who don't have space to stash all the extra items, they are subsiding people with more space or larger families.

Tee yes they did didn't they!

No, you're probably paying for a load of stuff to go past it's use by date. Loads of BOGOF are short date, IME.

It isn't about subsidising' and 'fairness', they are a business, an especially cut throat business, if you only want one, but don't like the price, don't buy it, or find it cheaper elsewhere.

I only buy certain stuff if it's 2 for 1. I won't buy any of it now!

And of course you won't get a best price. Maybe for a few weeks but then prices will slowly creep up and we'll all be worse off. 2 for 1 stuff helps large families, which is where the bulk of the supermarket's income comes from! All supermarkets need a psychological hook, 2 for 1, 3 for 2, multibuys etc. otherwise they will lose customers.

On the plus side, they say they are putting up the value of clubcard points/rewards somehow.

Blu I understand they are a business, I think though they have a wider responsibility as well as pure profits though. At my local supermarket you cannot buy 1 muffin for example you can only buy them in packs of 12 which are sometimes on 2 for 1.
From a personal health perspective and environmental perspective supermarkets should not force extra items on people which often end up in land fill. It is not okay to say just don't buy any then, if my family would like an occasional treat I should be able to buy product they sell in a reasonable quantity.

I dislike all of these offers on perishable foods. 3 for £5, buy 1 get 1 free, etc. I would rather things were priced lower to start with. It does encourage people to buy more that they don't necessarily need, and obviously more waste as a result. I am surprised that a supermarket is actually willing to sell less in order to reduce waste, though. I hope others follow suit.

Hocus
Why do you think the bulk of supermarkets profits come from larger families? Do you have a reason to know this is true? Or do the bulk of their profits come from child free people who buy the high margin finest range of ready meals etc and don't pick up the 2 for 1 extra items?

Larger families will buy more nappies, clothes, toiletries, food aimed at children like cereals, yoghurts, crisps and sweets. Bulk meat items - mince, chops, sausages. Huge shopping trolleys, maybe two. Couples - smaller trolleys, less weekly spend. And wouldn't they be shopping at Waitrose or M & S for their ready meals where they wouldn't get trampled on?

Dp and I worked at Tesco HO for years.

Their 2 for £2 makes me angrier when on the shelf, the single item is £1 !!

Yes, I've queried that before! Especially on toiletries. 1 item £1, 3 items for £4! Apparently suppliers send weekly shelf-edge deals through but they occasionally overlap with a previous low price.

conversation.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/the-supermarket-special-offers-that-arent-so-special

Am I wrong to assume that BOGOFs cost the supermarkets very little?

I am under the impression it is actually the supplier who pays for the promotion. (The own brand items are never BOGOF) and subsidise it by the brand having to pay for premium spots in the supermarket, making the supermarkets look 'good'.

I like buy one get one frees the food neevr goes off as we are a family of six (soon to be 7). I only wish they would do more of the offers on food that isnt junk - so more fruit less biscuits, reduce the price of flour rather than the price of cake etc etc

It's all a load of nonsense anyway.
Example, strawberries- 2 for 1 one week, half price the next
What kind of idiots do they think we are?

Ha.

What will happen is they will get rid of the bogof etc offers, and the double clubcard points and lower prices.

And a month or two later they will begin the process of slowly putting the prices back up, or begin to reduce pack sizes so that the same amount of money gets you ever so slightly less (they already do this, they've reduced many things from 1kg to 900g and kept the price the same! or raised it!) and what we will end up with is fewer clubcard points and no special offers.

I love the idea that this is not a plot to increase their profits but that they're doing this to help us and to stop wasteage though. It's sweet. Naive and sweet.

Bookmark this thread so that you can come back in 3 - 6 months and queue up to tell me I was right

Like it Hecate! I do think you are right too.

Wouldn't surprise me a bit Hecate.

BOGOF is a con. I don't believe for a moment that removing BOGOFs will cost the supermarket any more than just pricing individual items competitively. BOGOF just creates an illusion of buyers getting a bargain.

Yep generally these are paid for by the manufacturer of said item to get additional shelf space/display space within stores. I used to work for a company that is a big supplier to supermarkets and we had to go in and physically do spot checks to make sure that the offers and additional space THE COMPANY HAD PAID FOR, were in actual fact correct. And they pay a lot of money for it.

Doesn't cost the supermarket anything in profits.

With regards to the shelf tickets, the errors normally occur either because the store are slow in changing them or an inputting error has been made at head office.

I make use of BOGOFs and put the one I won't use quickly in the freezer. There's not much I won't freeze.

If you don't have a freezer or space in your freezer, why not wait until the use by date, cook it and pop it back in the fridge where it will be good for another 2-3 days.

Also, if you want to know how many weeks you've got look on the shelf ticket (yellow in Tesco) as it will have an end date on it.

you arent obliged to shop in tesco, go to waitrose :)