ASDA has announced a provocative pricing promotion which accuses its retail competitors of enticing customers in with low headline prices only to then spring additional charges on top.
It described its common sense commitment as the first truly transparent pricing programme which offers single-vision spectacles at a fixed price regardless of the prescription. The offer is priced at £50 or £70 for designer frames or two pairs for £90.
Asda's head of optical Nik Langrish-Dixon said other retailers' lead-in prices might sound good but they hide a multitude of additional charges.
'We are offering customers a flat price for a pair of specs no matter what their prescription - no hidden extras, no nasty surprises.' The all-in price includes the frame, single-vision lenses for prescriptions between +20D and -20D, an anti-scratch coating and an anti-reflection coating. It also includes mid- or high-index lenses should the patient's prescription warrant them.
Research revealed by Asda showed that 45 per cent of wearers say cost is the biggest barrier to buying new spectacles and that the average person spends £150. Just under half of those questioned (42 per cent) said anything under £100 was a fair price.
Langrish-Dixon said: 'Other retailers' headline prices may sound good in theory, the reality is that nearly 85 per cent of their customers don't get their glasses at this price and end up paying way more. You could go in expecting to pay £25 for a pair or glasses but, depending on your prescription, could easily end up shelling out over £200.' This offer took away the fear that you would go expecting to pay one price but end up spending more, he said.
He denied that there would be provocative price comparisons in its advertising. 'We struggle to get across how much value we are offering.' He said it was a single price and nothing more. 'If you need a 1.67 index lens then that's what you'll get.'
Langrish-Dixon said he expected a 'huge swell' in the numbers of customers coming into stores with a prescription from elsewhere wanting dispensing only.