'Infuriating' detail in Woolworths digital price tag
Shoppers expressed their frustration over the error on the weekend.
A Woolworths shopper has pointed out an "infuriating" issue with the supermarket's digital price tags which they claim popped up many times throughout their visit at a Sydney store on Sunday.
A photo shared online shows a tub of Bulla Sour Cream perched up on a shelf inside the unnamed store, but the label beneath it says the item is "temporarily unavailable" and has no price shown.
"The new digital price tags are infuriating," the poster wrote alongside the image on Reddit. "There was like 10 examples of this today. Some with like 20 items on the shelf but no prices displayed."
With Aussies consciously tracking their supermarket spending as the cost of living soars, not being made aware of a product's price before reaching the checkout was problematic.
"I just want to know the per unit cost of the item so I can compare it to the other sizes and brands. Stood there like an idiot googling it," the poster fumed. "Honestly I can't really afford to shop these days without getting the most economical option."
Why not displaying the price can be problematic
Not having this information available means shoppers can not compare the product to others and therefore can't make the best choice while shopping, Ian Jarratt from Queensland Consumers Association told Yahoo News Australia. He suggests this may have been a "glitch in the system" but it still raises issues for consumers.
"There's clearly a timing problem between [Woolworths] changing the labels on the shelves and entering the product in the computer system," he explained.
"Staff should be able to [update labels] easier with the electronic system. I think there's less excuse for getting it wrong with the digital".
Woolies previously told Yahoo News the electronic labelling, which they rolled out in 2022, would be updated in "real time" and would allow staff to focus on "serving customers and replenishing shelves" instead of manually changing prices.
The supermarket could not address this particular scenario in detail when approached by Yahoo and said it's hard to tell if it's a wider issue, or an isolated one, but gave advice to customers.
"If there's an issue with the electronic shelf labelling please ask a team member," a spokesperson said. "It's the same advice we give to customers if one of the paper tickets has fallen from the shelf."
Prices on products 'not a requirement' but is encouraged
While it's not a requirement to always provide a price on products, Ian said it's in Woowlorths' best interest to have a price displayed to allow customers to make better purchasing decisions in-store.
"We are champions of unit pricing and we continue to advocate very strongly for it to be provided better than it is at the moment," the consumer advocate said.
"As a consumer, you would expect [supermarkets] to be displaying the price there because [shoppers] have got to make a decision while there.
"My position is it's not necessary to show the price when the product is not there, but if there is some product left, they should have it there."
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