Cheap alcohol? Supermarkets ‘mislead shoppers’ over pricing

Supermarkets are constantly offering deals on alcohol, such as multibuy offers, discounts, and special buys.

As a result you may find yourself putting a couple of extra bottles of wine in the trolley to make the most of a deal or stocking up on your favourite whiskey while it is reduced.

But, are you really saving money?

Dodgy pricing

You probably won’t be surprised to hear that, in many cases, the answer to that question is a resounding ‘no’.

This is because retailers love to muddy the waters when it comes to a special offer.

So, they might inflate the price of a product for 28 days so they can then make it look like they are offering a really big discount.

Or, offer a multibuy discount that is absolutely miniscule when you do the sums.

For example, at the moment Morrisons is offering one litre of Bombay Sapphire Gin at a special offer price of £20, down from £27.

But, research by alcohol price comparison site bringabottle.co.uk shows that over the past year the gin has been sold most often at £20, meaning it isn’t a bargain at all, just the normal price.

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How to spot a good deal

Bringabottle.co.uk analysed 1.4 million prices over the past year to find the true retail price of the bestselling drinks in the UK.

The company has averaged the lowest retail price over the past 365 to produce the real price of each drink.

Armed with this information you can spot the good deals from the fakes.

The research has revealed that some supermarkets and shops are selling drinks at well above the average price, while others are trumpeting huge discounts that are, in fact, the standard price.

For example, Tesco is currently selling festive favourite Veuve Clicquot Champagne for £30 a bottle, whereas it will cost you £40 in Sainsburys.

Bringabottle’s research shows the average price over the past year was just £29.50, showing both supermarkets are upping the price for Christmas.

“Consumers are savvy enough to shop around for the best price in the market, however finding out what they should be paying can sometimes be difficult,” says Hugo Fairey, director of BringaBottle.

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Actual retail prices

Find out the average price for all your favourites in the table below.