Dunnes, Superquinn, Tesco and SuperValu all sell larger Pampers “economy” packs for more, per nappy, than smaller packs. The price distortions were uncovered by a new consumer body that said they went against the conventional wisdom that buying bulk saved money. Una Cassidy, of Shoppingbill.com, said: “I see other people like me struggling to carry the big pack of nappies to the car thinking we have got a bargain when in fact we are not saving any money. The more Pampers nappies you buy, the more expensive they become.”
Last week, The Sunday Times revealed that buying cans of beer in bulk could prove more expensive. Party packs of some popular brands were found to be almost €3 more than if the same beers had been bought individually.
It shows that shoppers need to be vigilant when trying to save money on their grocery shopping. Not only should they compare prices between brands but also double-check that bigger packs mean better value.
With nappies, a considerable expense for parents, pack sizes are often awkward, making it difficult to calculate which one offers a better deal per nappy. Using up to five nappies a day, new parents are more likely to buy bigger packs, and assume they are better value.
Pampers Baby Dry Carry Pack Maxi, which contains 34 nappies, is €9.42, while the economy pack of 62 is €17.76, which works out at 2 cent more per nappy. The jumbo pack, containing 80 nappies, also worked out more expensive per nappy than the smallest pack.
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Paula Swayne, a mother of five-month-old twins, Evan and Luke, said: “I just buy the bigger packs (of Pampers) always — otherwise I would be up and down to the shop all the time.”
Alan Clayton, who carried out the survey for Shoppingbill.com, said: “The fact that the packets are all in odd amounts makes it confusing. If they were in packs of 20 or 50 people could make price comparisons much more easily.”
The survey also found that Pampers nappies were on sale at almost identical prices across the supermarket chains. Procter & Gamble, the company that produces the leading brand of nappies, said this weekend: “Pampers is a regular purchase for parents and, over a three-month period, the 58-nappy pack will be a cheaper cost per nappy option. However, because of promotional activity there may be occasions when the 32-nappy pack offers better value and this survey has captured one of those snapshots.”
Tesco said price “distortions” may have arisen because of supplier or retailer price promotions that may not have been transferred to related products in the range. The supermarket has launched a review of all of its products and is implementing a new policy to ensure that bigger packs will always represent better value for customers.
PAMPERS PRICES
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Baby Dry 5 Junior
(30) €9.42 31c each
(54) €17.76 33c each
(80) €25.38 32c each
Baby Dry Junior Plus
(28) €9.42 34c each
(50) €17.76 36c each
Baby Dry 4+ Maxi Plus
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(32) €9.42 29c each
(58) €17.76 31c each
Pampers Baby Dry 4 Maxi
(34) €9.42 28c each
(62) €17.76 29c each