BOOTS and Superdrug risk misleading shoppers with hundreds of “dodgy” member deals, Which? has warned.
Both high street retailers offer customers discounted prices for signing up to the free loyalty schemes.
They can also earn points, which can be used as money-off vouchers in stores.
The competition watchdog’s guidance on loyalty price promotions says deals are most likely to be misleading if the non-loyalty price during the promotion is higher than the selling price immediately before and after it.
The consumer group said it found 119 loyalty deals from Boots and 162 deals from Superdrug that were like this.
For example, at Boots the Avène XeraCalm AD Lipid-Replenishing Cream Moisturiser (200ml) cost £16.50 for loyalty members and £22 for everyone else while it was on special offer.
However, immediately before this deal it was on an all customer promotion priced at £17.60 with a ‘was’ price of £22.
Then immediately after the loyalty deal it was again on an offer for everyone, this time priced as £16.50 with a ‘was’ price of £22.
Which? believes that the £22 ‘was’ price would have been misleading to its loyalty customers, because that wasn’t the price they would have paid immediately before.
Meanwhile at Superdrug offers included the Simple Refresh and Replenish skincare bundle, which was £4.98 for loyalty members and £9.98 for those not signed up to the scheme.
But immediately before this the bundle was £4.80 (reduced from £9.98) for everyone and immediately after it was £4.49 for everyone (again reduced from £9.98) – regardless of membership status.
Which? also found an Oral-B pink electric toothbrush and travel case being promoted on a loyalty deal of £34.99 with a non-member price of £69.99.
At a glance this appears to be a good saving, but the price for everyone immediately before and after the promotion was £34.99 (reduced from £69.99).
Sue Davies, Which? head of consumer protection policy, described the findings as “concerning”.
“It’s concerning that Boots’ rival Superdrug seems to be employing similar dodgy-looking pricing tactics – meaning shoppers at two of the biggest players in the health and beauty sector are at risk of being misled.”
The consumer champion said it is also calling on the CMA to investigate to send a clear message that murky pricing practices will not be tolerated.
A Boots spokesperson said: “We have taken on board the report’s guidance and have been working diligently to ensure all our promotions are aligned to it.”
While, Superdrug said: We always aim to offer value and savings to customers ensuring we are clear, fair and reward loyalty.”
The Sun has contacted Superdrug and Boots for comment.
How do the loyalty schemes work?
Boots loyalty scheme has been running since 1997, and there are now over 17 million Advantage card members.
It works by rewarding shoppers with three points for every £1 they spend.
Each point is worth 1p, so if you’ve saved 1234 points, you’ll have £12.34 to spend.
To pay for your shopping using your points balance, you’ll need the full amount as you can’t split payments between points and cash.
Many shoppers build up their balance over the year to buy Christmas presents, or get bargains in the mega Boots sale at the end of the year.
It’s free to sign up and you can do so online or in store
Meanwhile, at Superdrug you’ll earn one point for every £1 you spend.
You can spend your points in multiples of 100. This means that you can chose to use:
- 100 points = £1
- 200 points = £2
- 300 points = £3 and so on
You can pick up its a free Health & Beautycard from your local Superdrug store and register it online.
Alternatively, you can complete a registration form in store.
