A TikTok creator stumbled across an example of pink tax during a shop at their Boots store as they uncovered a money-saving hack by finding the exact product just aisles away in the Men’s section
A recent video exposed the alarming pink tax in the UK’s number one drugstore – proving its own products increased in price when in the women’s skincare aisle versus its men’s counterpart, for pink packaging alone.
A TikTok offering ‘top tips’ for Boots’ own brand skincare, titled “Boots money saving hack. Don’t pay more for pink packaging,” has received 923,300 views and over 115,000 likes for the shopping hack that is simply this: shop in the men’s section.
Despite replacing Marks & Spencer as women’s top brand in Britain in 2018, according to YouGov, TikTok user ‘the finance gurl’ shared that Boots’ skincare can be made even cheaper, once you remove it’s pink packaging in favour of Boots’ Men’s green and blue. And all it will cost you is a short walk down the drugstore’s aisles.
How to dodge ‘pink tax’ as women overpay billions per year in hidden price hike
Giving the example of a hyaluronic acid moisturiser, the creator captioned the clip: “The men’s section often has cheaper alternatives, which are sometimes identical to the women’s version!”
The creator’s dupe for the moisturiser was the exact same product advertised to men. To add to viewers’ disbelief, the cheaper alternative is both bigger in size and less in price – a win for everyone but the female-majority consumer.
In the video, the creator shows the pink hyaluronic acid moisturiser on sale for £5.30 (at a Boots Advantage card price). The 30ml bottle contains the exact ingredients as the 50ml bottle for £2.50 just steps away, in their respective pink and green packaging. “You’re actually getting more for half the price,” said the creator.
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One comment under the viral read: “I just checked website and if you look at price per 100mls, men’s is considerably cheaper! Pink tax p*sses me off!”. Another wrote how they “can’t believe boots out of everyone is doing this,” attracting nearly 31,000 likes.
Interestingly, one defender pointed out how the ingredient sodium hyaluronate is slightly higher up the ingredient list (eighth to the men’s 10th), sharing that “the higher up on the list the higher the amount,” and therefore reflects in the price. However, compared to the ratio between the two prices, viewers of the video remain unimpressed and unconvinced.
A third person typed: “It’s a crying shame they get away with this! Same with ‘baby stuff’, always get cotton wool and wipes in the baby section. It’s way cheaper”.
The Mirror reached out to Boots for a comment. A spokesperson said the brand has set out to correct their error and reprice the product. They said: “Our Boots Men Everyday Skin Hyaluronic Acid Moisturiser (50ml) costs £6 but it was priced at £2.50 in one of our Aberdeen stores in error.”
“The Boots Ingredients Hyaluronic Acid Moisturiser (30ml) costs £5. Following a review, we will reduce the cost of this product to £3.60 so it is in line with the price of the men’s product on a ml basis”.
The spokesperson added: “Thank you to the social media user in Aberdeen who posted the video that brought this to our attention”.
‘Pink tax’ is not something officially imposed by governments, but it is arguable that women of Britain feel its effects. The term refers to the steeped prices of female products compared to those marketed to men, creating gendered price-discrimination.
It describes the gap between products and services marketed to men and women – often identical products – including toiletries and sanitary products, clothing, and even services like dry cleaning and hair cuts. In turn, this forms a domino effect into women’s finances, adding to the gender wage gap and financial inequality.
A stark example in UK research from 2018 found women’s facial moisturiser was 34.28 percent more expensive than men’s.
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