London diary

One for £2, two for £5

Silly supermarket offers

Go to a supermarket, and it looks like good deals galore: there are big red labels on the packages or shelves indicating that something is cheap, and there are BOGOF (buy one get one free) deals as well as two-for offers. Perhaps we as consumers have been conditioned to interpret these signs and immediately associate them with good deals.

I am not sure how to explain these ‘offers’ I found at the local Co-op last month: if I were to buy two for the good-deal price, then I am actually paying more. For example, a pack of corned beef is £2 per unit, but the ‘good’ deal, indicated by the big white letters on red background, suggests that I would have to pay £5 for two, i.e. £2.50 per pack.

I did not purchase either the corned beef or the quarter pounder to see what would have happened at the till.