OFT urges retailers to review pricing policies

Retailers are being urged to review their pricing policies following an Office of Fair Trading (OFT) report that suggested some pricing practices might encourage consumers to spend more than they needed to.

The OFT issued its warning in the wake of the Advertising of Prices report which suggested that certain pricing techniques led consumers into making purchasing decisions they would not have made had prices been clearer.

It urged retailers to review their pricing practices to ensure they complied with trading laws or risk enforcement action. A spokesman for the OFT said it had stopped short of making recommendations for a change in the law and that current guidance on pricing practices and advertising codes still applied. 'Our report has looked at a number of price promotion practices including volume offers and free offers including buy-one-get-one-free offers,' he said.