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Supermarket pricing is getting annoying

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  1. #1

    Supermarket pricing is getting annoying

    Is it just me or does it seem like pricing strategies like "Buy 1, Get 1" / "Buy 3 for Price of 2 " have gotten ridiculously prevalent at local supermarkets in recent years? This happens in other countries, but it seems like the pricing of the single item here is excessive enough that you're compelled to buy the higher quantity.

    They even do this with bulky items like bags of rice, bleach, laundry detergent, toilet paper and I end up struggling to carry my purchases out of the store. A fair portion of the time, the discount isn't applied at check-out, so you have to be vigilant and then waste your time disputing the charge and waiting for somebody to check.

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  2. #2

    Join Date
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    Everything about HK supermarkets is terrible. I really cannot think of a single redeeming feature and it'll be the little thing I'll enjoy most when eventually going back to the UK.

    (Ok I thought of one thing... you never need an HKD10 coin to get a trolley. But then if you can afford a whole trolley of food you probably don't go shopping yourself)


  3. #3

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    Cheaper for supermarkets if the customers buy in bulk and store the excess in their homes. This way the supermarkets don't need to pay for so much storage.


  4. #4

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    Supermarkets here suck dirty dog balls or @chuckster007's nuts (dogs are probably cleaner).

    People will chime in about "no space" but strangely enough if you pop over to Macau you can find lots of decent wines under 50HKD while here you struggle to find one under 100 that isn't a buy 2-3 or whatever BS they are doing to sell things at a remotely reasonable cost.

    Supermarkets are especially annoying this time of year when every isle is a maze of boxes because HK (and the oligarchy) likes to ignore simple solutions like basements for storage, that's why there's an army of delivery trucks everywhere all the time.

    Prices are often incorrect as well, especially at WELLCOME, so you always have to watch carefully at checkout. Back home we have price accuracy laws, anything valued at 10CAD that was inaccurate is free while over 10CAD you get 10CAD the price.

    Then there is the checkout culture of taking as much time as humanly possible before you get out of the way so the next person can be served. Hold on let me just see... Where is the YUU app? Oh I'll just download and reinstall it, oops I'm not registered, hold on... OK, I also have a pile of coupons to apply, awesome, now that I've paid I will now start packing my groceries, and after I'll leave my cart behind making sure it blocks your exit.


    During the pandemic the two big chains got government handouts even though they're the one industry that actually did better!

    Last edited by Cornmeal; 25-01-2022 at 08:27 PM.

  5. #5

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    Quote Originally Posted by Cornmeal:
    During the pandemic the two big chains got government handouts even though they're the one industry that actually did better!
    As a shareholder I was both happy and thought that this was a bit over the top. But at least for Dairy Farm strangely enough their profits didn't really increase even with the subsidies.

  6. #6

    Join Date
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    One thing that has finally improved here is that all three of my local supermarkets (Wellcome, Park'n'Shop/International and Aeon) now have self-checkouts... so much quicker and easier!

    Aeon even has self-scan using their phone app, if you pay a trivial annual fee - although typically annoyingly they only accept payments from members using their own credit cards, but you can pay on the phone with Octopus...

    aw451 likes this.

  7. #7

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    It's because they don't understand how a supermarket should operate.

    1 - why are you stocking items during the day and blocking the alleys? If you have a stroller it is a nightmare.
    2 - put the god damn price on items instead of putting cannot sold out (when the item is clearly there), and that applies to other shops (Decathlon HK, why don't you do like your stores in Europe?).
    3 - retarded app design, every time there is an update it kicks you out and if you don't remember the password you have to reset everything it's such a pain in the ass. Why don't I need to do it with my banking app where the data is more sensitive?
    4 - discounted items, give me a break you bunch a scabby c****. The meat is off tomorrow and all you can do is 4hkd off at 9pm in the evening?
    5 - rush hour? let's have one cashier while the rest of the staff is pretending to be busy and not see the queue.
    6 - self service cashier, let's have no one overview it and get stuck while waiting for an authorization to buy alcohol at 30+ yo!
    6 bis - self service cashier, ban the old farts who don't have the manners to queue properly and can not operate that god damn machine without having a member of staff scanning their item one by one!
    7 - why does it take you ages to start stocking an item properly that is sold out constantly by the middle of the afternoon? don't you want money?

    Conclusion, it's HK and the culture is doing as less as possible to get away with it. Race to the mediocre. Can not!


  8. #8

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    My favourite three things about HK supermarkets:

    Celf checkouts: someone usally screws something up or scans alcohol then moves to the next then the next. Eventually all of the self checkouts are out of action. Also P&S has about 10 books of fruit and veg barcodes organised in come cryptic way. Sometimes it's by colour (apples, brocolli, cabbage), sometimes it's "citrus fruits" (kiwi, grapefruit, lemon). I don't have a clue.

    Stock availability: changes like the wind. Half the time I have to visit Wellcome, P&S and top up at Jason's or CitySuper because it's impossible to get everything in one place at a sensible price.

    Price tags: just leave the shelves empty FFS. Putting soymilk in the yoghurt section just because it's empty is not helpful to people who want yoghurt or soymilk.


    I'm glad I got that off my chest

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  9. #9

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    In addition to most of what was said, my two biggest gripes are:
    1. Expired items. I come across expired goods all. the. time. I've been burned enough to check every item I buy but sometimes when I'm in a rush I'll forget to check and go home with a tub of hummus that expired two months back.

    2. Opened jars. I don't know if people are opening sealed jars to smell the contents but I've come across opened / unsealed jars of pasta sauce, pickles, etc countless times. Again, I started checking the nub at the top of the bottle but every so often I accidentally take one home. The last time I took one back to the store for a refund, the clerk accused me of opening it myself.

    This tom foolery never happened to me in the US.

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  10. #10

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    Not sure why M&S continues to expand its food offering. Who owns the franchise in HK?

    Last edited by East_coast; 25-01-2022 at 11:27 PM.

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