Bunnings defends ‘ridiculous’ price discrepancy on same item at different stores
Bunnings has explained why two different locations may have different prices for the same item, and the reason is not what people expected.
Bunnings stand by one of their pricing strategies which intermittently exposes some customers to higher prices for the same product.
A disgruntled customer said the hardware chain "don't even price match themselves" after noticing the same picnic table was available at two different prices on Friday. The 'Lifetime 6 Foot Craftsman Picnic Table' was available for $100 less online when compared to his local store in Gladstone in regional Queensland.
"A fold out table I want is online as $199 and my local store won't give it to me for any less than $299," he wrote online.
Shoppers unimpressed by price difference
The customer admitted he had never realised the difference in pricing between "metro and rural" stores before. Another agreed the price difference was "ridiculous", however, others pointed to the associated costs likely attached to providing goods in regional areas as a potential explanation.
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Bunnings explain why same item has different price
Despite shoppers' belief the price difference for the picnic table was due to the customers' regional location, Bunnings explained it is actually caused by a store's proximity to a competitor.
Yahoo News Australia understands the picnic table in question has been temporarily reduced in specific stores and online in order to price match a competitor offering the same item, however, the Gladstone Bunnings — the shopper's local store — does not operate near a competitor, therefore, its price has not been reduced. Yahoo News found other stores where the table was selling for the higher price of $299.
"Our temporary price reductions occur at either a local, state or national level, depending on where our competitors operate and whether they’re offering the same product only in-store, or online as well," Jen Tucker, Bunnings Director of Merchandise, told Yahoo News.
It is understood that if the customer was to find the same item cheaper at a competitor, Bunnings would apply their price guarantee and would beat the cheaper price by 10 per cent. Therefore in this case, it is in the customer's best interest to shop around and approach Bunnings with a competitor's offer to receive the benefit from the price match guarantee.
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