Two particular items I wanted to purchase did not have the prices displayed on shelf. Methinks it is because the price has gone up, changed in the computers, but they haven’t had time to print and place the new price labels. Quilton 24 Toilet paper and a 2 litre bleach. This overcomes the retailer having to give the items for free which has often happened to me in the past, I took the items to the cashier to find out the price. I did not purchase the items and they had to return them to the shelves…… not happy!
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Rather than a ‘conspiracy’ to avoid scanned pricing issues I suggest it is more a failure of some managements.
Firstly Woolies has provided me $100’s of the same item free in aggregate over multiple occasions because they cannot organise to update their signage and scanners and catalogue offers. I consider it management failures on multiple levels.
Secondly both our local Colesworths regularly have products without pricing signage that seems to be related to local management/staffing fails as they have been increasingly trying to hustle with product turnover, shortages, and moving displays from place to place in their shops. While it does not at all address your comment or the underlying problem, both Colesworths apps have the ability to scan a product bar code and (usually) return the price; sometimes it returns ‘product not available’ even though one is in my hand and the rack has plenty, that another issue for their IT people to eventually improve vis a vis their inventory management system.
In my anecdotal experience products without pricing have tended to be full priced; sometimes I am surprised a sign is regular price but the scanner delivers a sale price at checkout.
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If it is the Essentials 2L bleach, our local Woollies has been out of stock for a couple of months. Our local Woollies manager said they have had supply issues nationally. The same has applied to toilet paper.
At our local Woollies the shelf is bare of Essentials Bleach, and price labelling removed. We have been getting the equivalent from Coles.
Shelf fillers might have found an old box in storage and stacked it on the shelves as the shelves were devoid of product.
It is also worth noting that shelf fillers no longer seem to do shelf labelling, only filling the shelf with products from temporary storage areas behind the supermarket walls.
I have seen our own fillers place items on shelves without labels. I have then had to ask other staff for pricing which is done usually by scanning the product. I also question the lack of labelling which the usual response is they haven’t got around to it yet.
Wth supply issues occurring regularly, one could expect more labelled shelves empty and other products in shelves unlabelled.
There won’t be a sinister reason why the shelving doesn’t have label, but in a mismatch in timing or from an oversight (or left hand not talking to the right one).
It is worth letting instore staff know that there are unlabelled product on the shelves.
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Our little supermarket doesn’t label all goods, particularly fruit & veg. From experience, no shelf price means it is expensive.
I don’t think there is a requirement to price all shelf stock, as an “invitation to treat”, you (in theory) can negotiate a mutually acceptable price or leave it behind. As we don’t shop at the majors I’m not up with their T&Cs and customer promises.
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The ACCC seems to have neglected to provide advice on products where no shelf price is displayed.
Anyone who has been into an antique shop or a jewellery store might notice many items prices are not immediately evident.
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At our nearest WW we have the same dearth of pricing tickets on toilet paper and tissues. Their homebrand bleach is likewise absent.
The issue of pricing is as @phb said, the shelf-fillers only get stock from storage, fill the shelves/fridge/freezer, and/or move the older stock to the front. Someone detailed with the job goes around and does the price labels.
I have asked about missing products, and WW and Aldi are both having real supply chain issues. What is more frustrating for me is that often someone decides to spread an available line to fill the vacant space next to it, so the pricing ticket for the newly filled space doesn’t apply, as it is for a completely different product.
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