The Australian government has made public its long-awaited scheme to introduce standardised national unit pricing – but the news has met with a cool reception from retailers.
Retailers will have to include unit pricing in-store and in print and online advertising but not in broadcast advertising, the Australian government revealed today (8 January).
The move, which is designed to improve consumers’ access to information about the products they purchase, will compel retailers to display prices per unit of measurement.
The scheme will come into full effect by the end of the year, the federal government said.
Under the proposal, supermarkets with a selling space of 1,000 square metres or more and online retailers who supply food-based grocery items will also be required to follow the unit pricing requirements. However, smaller retailers will be exempt from the regulation.
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By GlobalDataIndustry body the Australian Retailers Association has tentatively welcomed the news.
“This is a win for small business and larger retailers would be happy with the standardised national scheme as opposed to a state based approach,” ARA executive director Richard Evans said.
However he continued: “Restricting retailers with the burden of compliance reduces market response flexibility.
“The recent ACCC Grocery Inquiry confirmed retailing is a very dynamic and competitive sector, which by its very nature, keeps prices low. A mandatory response to weak consumer demand for a mandatory unit pricing scheme is a rather heavy-handed approach to regulating a sector that prides itself on providing competitive advantage for consumers.”
