Yep, I hate this. I’ve avoided “loyalty” cards all my life because I’m not interested in giving valuable data to corporations that I already hate away for a tuppence. But now that they’re doubling prices on stuff unless you use the loyalty cards there’s not a huge amount you can do. What I’m doing at the moment is avoiding those shops that do this as much as I can, and when I do go there, a bunch of friends and all use one of our elderly mum’s loyalty cards, with the hopes of making their data just complete nonsense. That little old lady is sometimes vegan, sometimes not, she buys condoms, men and women’s hygiene products, various different brands of pretty much everything, she’s truly living life to its fullest!

Where I live, there are like 5 Tesco stores and just one other major supermarket. Definitely some corruption in the local council going on.

Is anyone surprised? Just like ‘The Sales’ and that Black Friday cobblers. I worked in Curry’s PCWorld once over that period. They have cheap(er than usual) cack shipped in just for that.

I hate that the member prices don’t show the unit rates. I prefer to buy in bulk where it works out cheaper for some things and it’s impossible now without taking a calculator.

Wait 'til you see the various benefits packages allocated to people with white collar jobs. Through my work I get a flat 4% off everything at Tesco. Sometimes I even get 6%.

The catch is that you have to (a) work for an employer providing the scheme, and (b) have enough cash in your bank account to pre-pay the account by a couple hundred pounds.

These systems are evidence that the sticker price is a tax on the poor.

Lets not forget that almost all deals are being put behind a phone app.

This is why I no longer shop at either of these stores.

This is the best summary I could come up with:

had failed to take inflation into account when analysing prices, and stressed that they adhered to Trading Standards rules on promotions.

Inflation has been at its highest for decades in recent months, with food prices hitting record levels.

was a jar of Nescafe Gold Blend Instant Coffee (200g) advertised at Sainsbury’s for £6 with a Nectar card - a saving of £2.10 on the regular price of £8.10.

said it had shared its findings with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and asked it to look at whether supermarkets could be hiking their regular prices to make loyalty scheme customers feel they are getting a discount.

A CMA spokesperson said: "Grocery prices are a huge concern to people all over the country and shoppers need help to spot the best value for their money.

That’s why the CMA has a programme of work in the groceries sector such as looking into unit pricing practices online and instore.

The original article contains 501 words, the summary contains 157 words. Saved 69%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!