The not so amazing deal that we think we are getting.

Imagine the situation, your looking for an easy lunch-time snack on the run and you have just popped into your local supermarket looking for something quick to eat. You fancy a meal deal, you pick up 'what you think' are the inclusive items in the deal, but when you get to the checkout you are sometimes stung over how much you are paying for your meal deal, as it was wrongly assigned on the shelf. 

As we become more money rich and time poor ready to eat foods have become an increasing convenience in our household diet and we are prepared to pay through the nose because it is there, ready  now.

The Not so Amazing Deal: Supermarkets tend to charge higher prices for multi-buy items when they would work out cheaper separately. Whose to Blame?

As well as being stung, in a recent report, the Office for Fair Trading suggests that 'misleading advertising of prices, however, may lead to consumers spending more than they need to... but buying a product which is not the best for them may add to wastage of time or suffering annoyance, disappointment or regret that you bought that item in the first place.

On the other-side of the coin should the consumer be to blame for the supermarkets poor marketing tactics, it is of my opinion that supermarkets often want us to be caught out, buying on deal, often become more expensive when you buy them together rather than separately but because we are too busy to work out the unit cost we fail to recognize this fact. 

Moreover with supermarkets becoming more like department stores, there is an increasing amount of advertising developed to attract consumers to money saving offers, triggering messages such as Special Offer, Double Discount, Reduced Rate, often do more harm than good and we tend often to avoid them in the supermarket. As John Bridgeman, former head of the Office of Fair Trading says "We've got to do much better at giving people the information they need to buy carefully, properly and secure value." 

So there it is, should we do more to know what we are paying for? Or should the supermarkets repeat quality audits on their labeling systems to make sure they are 100% up to date with the offer. 

Why Blu-Ray hasn't taken off?

Four years ago we were talking about the digital revolution, the phenomenon that was Blu-Ray, which offered extra-ordinary capabilities above the standard DVD. In recent years Blu Ray devices have suffered and struggled to maintain a captive audience for many.

Standard DVD remains the most popular type of player used, at nearly 80% of respondents, seven times more than a dedicated Blu-Ray device in a study by Mintel. Mintel estimates that 627,000 Blu-Ray players were sold in 2009, up by 57% on the previous year. Despite unit sales being five times less than standard DVD players, the technology contributed over 22% of market value. This is partly due to the fact that although prices have come down in recent years, they are still more expensive than the average DVD player.

The major difference between Blu-Ray and an ordinary DVD is the HD content, being a high definition disc; the image transferred is much clearer and much more vivid compared to its equivalent DVD. Furthermore added bonus material already on existing DVD’s is upgraded on Blu-Ray with the opportunity to extend or change the ending of a particular film.

Furthermore although Blu-Ray DVD’s will only play blu ray DVD’s this rules out most peoples entire DVD collection making it difficult for people to switch easily, I could not see people re-buying their existing DVD collection just because of the added bonus features on the Blu Ray equivalent. Combined with the average price of a Blu-Ray player you can see why people prefer to purchase the ordinary DVD over the higher priced equivalent. Even more so when most people already own an ordinary DVD player and the old adage ‘if it is not broken why fix it’ rings in many people’s ears.

We should also be aware of the current economic forecast, rising inflation combined with low interest rates means pockets are being squeezed much harder meaning consumers are price conscious and will only pay for goods that are only essential. It could be classified that Blu-Ray devices offer superior added value, but whilst the DVD is still around there is only going to be one winner. In most cases wherever the DVD is around, Blu-Ray will continue to struggle.

It seems that Blu-Ray has been launched ahead of its time, although the recession could not have been predicted many people still own a DVD player and are reluctant to switch to a higher priced alternative. Consumers are slowly getting round to the concept of HD and in less than 3 years the digital switch will mean that consumers will continue to learn about the latest technology. Blu Ray technology could perhaps come true to most people’s homes in several more years’ time.