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Everyone loves the thrill of bagging a bargain but there are fears that dynamic pricing could be the final nail in the coffin for yellow sticker bargains
People from all walks of life rely on yellow sticker bargains from supermarkets – food that is significantly reduced just before it goes off – to feed their families. But the introduction of dynamic pricing – where prices continuously adjust to reflect demand, season and supply – could mean it’s the end of the road for yellow sticker reductions making it much tougher to bag a bargain.
It wasn’t that long ago that Al Baker from Aldershot, Hampshire, found himself living from hand to mouth after his food import business went bust. “I had no money, sometimes just pennies in my pocket,” the 50-year-old dad told the Mirror. “I relied on yellow sticker bargains to feed my family and If I hadn’t been able to get my hands on them, I genuinely don’t know what we would have done. I am worried that dynamic pricing could be the final nail in the coffin for yellow sticker bargains.”
Al launched The Penny Pincher in 2018 – a blog where he shares his yellow sticker bargains and other money saving tips and he now has nearly 15,000 followers on Instagram. But after he went bankrupt, he worked as a courier and in Morrisons to try and make ends meet and worries what dynamic pricing will do to those who are struggling to make ends meet.
“When I worked at Morrisons everyone from all walks of life would come in for the reductions. I remember speaking to a guy in a suit who told me he couldn’t afford to buy full price food because it cost him a fortune to get to work. Pensioners will be badly affected as some of them will also be losing their Winter Fuel Payment and food costs are still sky high – I was in a supermarket the other day and it was £3 for six apples – that’s just ridiculous. With dynamic pricing coming in as well, fewer discounts on food could mean the difference between having a decent meal that day or not.”
Al, who has built his blog on the back of sharing money saving tips and yellow sticker bargains, says he’s better off now but he still loves a bargain. “I got 75% off some meat I bought on Sunday – lamb was £2.04 reduced from £8.25 and the pork was £2.04 which was normally £8.60. If it’s the end for yellow stickers, then people will have to shop savvy in different ways,” he adds. “We had a lovely roast on Sunday with all the trimmings which didn’t cost us a penny because I used my cashback from Jam Doughnut.”
Jam Doughnut is an app that awards instant cashback when shoppers purchase a voucher which can be used online and in-store.
“I use MyTrolley to see which supermarkets are cheaper for the things I need and there are food apps like Olio and TooGoodToGo,” he adds. “Meal planning can save people a lot of money. Even as a trained chef I end up making too much pasta – but you can freeze it and when you need a quick meal just add boiling water to it and after one minute you’ve got a quick meal.”
French tech company VusionGroup has confirmed it’s in talks with all the major UK supermarkets about introducing electronic shelf labels to 1,000 UK and Ireland stories by the end of 2024 and by 2026 most brands will be using digital pricing. Electronic labels will show different prices throughout the day – depending on demand – which will make it hard for people when it comes to budgeting for their food shop.
“Dynamic pricing will bring more uncertainty to the weekly food shop and could make budgeting very challenging and those who are already vulnerable could struggle with this move to increased technology,” says Jo Rourke from This Mum Cooks. “It will be more difficult to understand the pricing of food items they are purchasing and reduced price items will be less obvious. To be honest, I do not understand how they will be able to reduce items in this manner given that only certain packets of an item will be going past their sell by date. This sounds incredibly confusing.”
Andrew Opie, Director of Food and Sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, says he hopes dynamic pricing doesn’t signal the end of food bargains. “Retailers are always looking for ways to ensure that customers get the best value for money in their stores. Whether it is through yellow stickers, or other digital methods, retailers will continue to ensure that food bargains are highlighted for their customers, while also helping to minimise food waste in stores.”
Thrifty mum Vicky Saynor, who saves £50 a week on her food shop by hunting for yellow sticker discounts, says she is ‘gutted’. “I’m gutted because I guess I’ll end up paying more if there are no yellow sticker bargains although dynamic pricing might reduce food waste,” the mum of four who runs a luxury holiday let business in Hertfordshire called Bethnal and Bec says. “The bargains won’t be so obvious.
“My best ever yellow sticker bargain was from M&S on the 27th Dec when I bought a chicken that was originally £38 that had been reduced to £2,” she adds. “ Christmas Eve and Twixmas are great times for food bargains.” The mum also saves a fortune by buying out of season and going shopping just after Christmas, Easter and Halloween which helps her save a fortune when it comes to buying for her children aged 12, 14, 16 and 19.
“At Easter my kids get loads of chocolate things from M&S that were from Christmas,” she explains. “It’s chocolate at the end of the day and they enjoy it – their grandparents buy them Easter Eggs. At Halloween my kids get Easter Eggs and at Christmas their stocking fillers are filled from Halloween themed sweets.” she laughs. “It saves me a fortune and the kids don’t care.”
Consumer expert Helen Dewdney who runs The Complaining Cow told The Mirror she fears dynamic pricing won’t benefit the consumer because “supermarkets wouldn’t be introducing this unless they thought it was going to make them more money”. It is highly likely to reduce the yellow sticker items although supermarkets will still want to get rid of very short life items so it is likely that whatever happens prices will drop nearer the end of the day.
“One advantage is that some prices will go down, but the disadvantage is that some will go up and it will be harder to find a bargain. We may even see prices changing between picking the item off the shelf and going to the till,” Helen adds. “It is likely to confuse consumers especially for people who plan and budget for their meals before shopping.
“After so many issues with supermarkets over the last few years, consumers’ distrust in supermarkets will increase as they will doubt that they have got the best bargain – consumers are likely to see this as surge pricing. Why wouldn’t they?”
10 thrifty tips for saving money on your food shop
- Freeze bread, plain yoghurt or cream and cheese
- Shopmium, GreenJinn and CheckoutSmart are apps offering money off food
- Reduce impulse buying and waste by planning meals, making a list and not going shopping hungry.
- Olio is an app where neighbours can give away food they don’t need
- Retailers from supermarkets to restaurants sell discounted food through TooGoodToGo
- Trolley.co.uk compares prices across supermarkets and takes into account discounts for loyalty apps and cards
- Check out Discount Dragon or Approved Foods where you can buy food nearing its expiry date
- Sign up for loyalty cards, rewards, and cashback apps like Jam Doughnut
- Buy frozen as this leads to less waste and often stays fresh for longer
- Find your nearest food club or social supermarket where you can buy food that supermarkets are about to throw away
