UK pricing practices in the spotlight

The question

What should businesses take note of recent amendments to the UK’s Price Marking Order and the CMA’s newly published report on loyalty pricing?

The key takeaway

Consumer-facing businesses should carefully consider the compliance of their pricing display strategies following amendments to the UK Price Marking Order by the new Government and the CMA’s recent publication of its report on loyalty pricing in the grocery sector.

The background

The Price Marking (Amendment) Order 2024 (PMO) came into effect on 1 October 2025, amending the Price Marking Order 2004 (2004 Order). It aims to help consumers identify and compare selling and unit prices both offline and online. The amendments follow the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) investigation into loyalty and unit pricing, previously reported on in RPC Bites #60.

The development

The PMO

The amendments in the updated PMO implements:

• consistency of units for unit pricing: Article 14 of the 2004 Order is revoked so that, if products are sold by “unit price”, businesses are required to display prices per product in metric units (kilogram, litre, metre, square, or cubic metre), depending on how the product is sold
• more stringent legibility requirements: price indications, which includes selling price, unit price, commission, conversion rate or VAT changes, must be displayed in a clear and reasonably sized font
• exclusion of deposits: from the “selling price” and “unit price” of goods
• display of the reduced selling price and reduced unit price for general reductions.

The PMO provides further rules in relation to where a product is offered at multiple selling prices dependent on whether a consumer meets a defined criterion (ie standard v loyalty scheme). In this case, each selling/unit price and the relevant conditions must be clearly displayed nearby.

Loyalty pricing

The coming into force of the updated PMO has been swiftly followed with the CMA publishing its findings from its investigation into around 50,000 grocery products on loyalty price promotions. Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, given the current trend of regulatory activity in pursuit of the protection of consumers, the findings were positive for retailers. The CMA found “very little evidence” of supermarkets inflating the prices of groceries to make their loyalty promotions appear misleadingly attractive. It concluded that 92% of the products reviewed offered genuine savings on the usual price. In any event, the CMA has written to UK supermarkets using loyalty promotions to advise them to review their practices to ensure compliance with consumer law and the CMA’s advice, particularly when alternating these promotions with others ie was/now promotions. An additional question has also been put to supermarkets for consideration – whether they should do more to ensure more groups of consumers can join and use the loyalty schemes ie those without smartphones.

Why is this important?

This reaffirms the CMA’s increased interest in specific pricing rules in the UK to ensure that consumers can make their purchasing decisions as rationally as possible and comes off the back of consumer research the CMA undertook in 2023 and published in early 2024.

Businesses should ensure compliance with the updated PMO and the CMA’s loyalty pricing advice (which points businesses towards the CTSI Guidance for Traders on Pricing Practices), particularly given that the CMA will have strengthened enforcement powers from spring next year, under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers act 2024.

Any practical tips?

Real estate on price labels (and shelf edge labels in physical shops) is the main victim of these new PMO rules – with potentially multiple unit prices needing to be displayed in some circumstances. For example, where a product is offered for sale with a promotional 3 for 2 deal, the price label will need to show both the unit price for when a product is bought by itself, and the unit price for when the product is purchased on the multibuy promotion.

Businesses should ensure that those responsible for pricing strategies and their display and design have updated training in order to ensure that all the necessary pricing information (including loyalty pricing) is both displayed and is completely clear and understandable for consumers.

Winter 2024