How to save money on groceries

A new consumer campaign has kicked off to encourage Queensland shoppers to read the unit price of groceries and not just rely on the display price in order to make savings on their trips to the supermarket.

Fair Trading Commissioner Victoria Thomson said with recent concerns about possible inflation and interest rate rises, many Queenslanders are looking at ways to save money to balance the family budget, and that unit pricing can help.

“The cheapest display price isn’t always the best deal when shopping for groceries,” Ms Thomson said.

“Displayed unit pricing is the best way shoppers can know what they’re paying for when doing their weekly shop.

“Unit pricing on shelf labels in grocery stores is an easy tool when working out how to get your best bang for the buck.

“Large grocery stores, and some online retailers that sell a wide range of grocery and food items - such as bread, breakfast cereal, milk, meat, fruit, vegetables, toilet paper and detergent - must display unit pricing.”

A simple example could be branded dishwasher tablets. If a pack of 50 is $10, the shelf label will also show that each tablet has a unit cost of 20 cents each. In comparison if a pack of 75 tablets is $11.25 it may initially seem more expensive, but the shelf label will show the unit cost per tablet is lower at 15 cents each.

Once you become used to using unit pricing it becomes easy to compare not just different sizes within brands, but also between different brands and between packaging types such as fresh and frozen.

Queensland Consumers Association (QCA) spokesperson Ian Jarratt welcomed the campaign and said it can further increase consumer awareness and use of grocery unit prices.

The QCA led the national campaign in 2009 which resulted in many grocery retailers having to display the unit price of prepacked products.

“The campaign will remind current users of the many ways they can make even more use of unit prices to save money and time. And, importantly, it will also increase awareness and use among non-users,” Mr Jarratt said.

Keep these money-saving tips in mind for your next grocery shop:

• The unit price of large packs is often lower than small or medium size packs.  But not always so it pays to check. Also avoid buying a bigger pack if it’s likely to go to waste.
• Compare the unit price of different sizes of the same brand’s product, as well as different brands of the same product.
• Look out for special offers which might temporarily have the lowest unit price – but not always.
• If a product is available loose or pre-packaged, check the unit price of both.
• Compare unit prices for products sold in different sections of the supermarket, for example, cheese, meats, seafood, nuts, fruit and vegetables

For more information on unit pricing and how the Unit Pricing Code works, visit the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s website: https://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/groceries/grocery-unit-prices