NCA price survey of personal care items and over the counter medicines shows price differentials of up to 162%
Value conscious shoppers can save in all categories
9 November 2009
A survey carried out by National Consumer Agency on the cost of personal care goods and over the counter medicines has revealed price differences of up to 161.6% between retailers. The NCA surveyed 117 products sold across 8 leading pharmacy groups, 4 independent pharmacies and the 4 largest supermarkets.
Ann Fitzgerald, Chief Executive of the NCA commented, "There are massive price differences on personal care and over the counter medicines depending on where you buy them. While, as you might expect, the supermarkets are generally cheaper, it is interesting to note that independent pharmacies aren't always the most expensive and overall perform well in cost comparisons with pharmacy chains. On some of the products we surveyed, pharmacy chains were the most expensive option, so it does pay to be price aware."
"There are also huge disparities in supermarket pricing on items in this category. Our survey of the 4 largest supermarket chains revealed a difference of over 18% between the cheapest and dearest retailer on a basket of 25 products."
A proportion of the products surveyed are restricted and can only be bought in a licensed pharmacy, so the supermarket product range surveyed excludes some everyday over the counter items that consumers may have cause to buy, especially at this time of year. Shoppers are therefore urged to be aware of price competition between independent pharmacies and pharmacy chains when it comes to those particular products.
"Personal care and over the counter medicines tend to be expensive elements of the weekly shop and with such large price differences between retailers, this is an area where shopping around can seriously impact on a consumer's pocket. We urge consumers to be conscious of the options available to them when purchasing personal care products and over the counter medicine and to check where the best value can be found," she said.
The survey compared prices for personal care products and over the counter medicines between supermarkets and between independent pharmacies and pharmacy chains. It also included a product comparison to find the cheapest and dearest products across all three retailer types.
- Supermarket Comparison - a basket of common items - 25 goods - was surveyed across Tesco, Dunnes Stores, Superquinn and SuperValu. The cost of this basket was cheapest in Tesco (€80.85) and dearest in Superquinn (€95.65). The difference between the cheapest and dearest basket was €14.80 (18.3%). In terms of individual products the biggest price difference was 95.2% (€1.80) Radox Herbal Bath Muscle Soak 500ml Liquid priced at €1.89 Tesco/Dunnes Stores and €3.69 in Superquinn.
- Pharmacy Comparison - a basket of 15 common items was identified across 12 pharmacies - including 8 chains and 4 independents. Bradley's Blanchardstown Shopping Centre (€106.31) was the cheapest, Hickey's, The Square, Tallaght (€113.30) was the dearest. This represents a variation of €6.99 (6.6%).
- Product Comparison - comparing the price of individual products across all retailers, (supermarkets, pharmacy chains and independent pharmacies) showed significant price differences. L'Oreal Paris Recital Preference Hair Colour had a 161.6% (€7.90) difference between the cheapest and dearest. (€4.89 Dunnes Stores, €12.79 Independent, Dublin 15). Vaseline 100g Tub had a 155.9% (€1.98) price difference between the cheapest and the dearest (€1.27 Sam MacCauley, €3.25 Independent, Dublin 15).
The survey was carried out on Tuesday 22nd and Wednesday 23rd September 2009. The NCA understands that several retailers in this sector have reduced prices since September.
Downloads
Download the survey report (MS Word, 400KB)
Download the main survey data (MS Excel spreadsheet, 136KB)
The list of stores surveyed was as follows:
- Sam McCauley, Mahon Point Shopping Centre, Cork
- Mulligan's, Thomastown, Co Kilkenny
- Hickey's, The Square, Tallaght, Dublin 24
- McSweeney (O' Hara's), Aungier Street, Dublin 2
- McCabes, North Main Street, Wexford.
- Bradley's, Blanchardstown Shopping Centre, Dublin 15
- Boots, Douglas Court, Cork
- Unicare, Blanchardstown Shopping Centre, Dublin 15
- Independent, Dublin 15
- Independent, Co. Dublin
- Independent, Kildare
- Independent, Kilkenny
- Tesco, Finglas, Dublin 11
- Dunnes Stores, Newbridge, Co Kildare
- Superquinn, Lucan, Co Dublin
- SuperValu (Pettitt's), Arklow, Co Wicklow