Canadian Consumers: The Price Isn't Always Right
[ It's a pity Telepanel has seen zero value in pushing ESL's on their home turf.]
Almost half (45 percent) indicate checkout price is not always the same as shelf price
MISSISSAUGA, ON, July 16 /CNW/ - Pricing errors do occur, and more often than shoppers want. According to an Ipsos-Reid poll(*) conducted on behalf of NCR Corporation, 45 percent of Canadians say the price at the checkout counter is occasionally (36 percent), often (8 percent) or always (1 percent) different than the shelf price of an item.
To address the situation, some retail stores are looking at installing in-store technology such as electronic shelf labels (ESLs), which eliminate price discrepancies between the shelf and checkout. ESLs are digital tags that can be attached to store shelves or other fixtures, where they display pricing and other information in large, clear characters. NCR RealPrice(TM) ESLs, which are wireless from ceiling to shelf, use the same computer file as the store's point-of-sale system. As a result, when purchases are scanned at checkout, the price always matches the price in the aisle.
According to Brian Sullivan, vice president of Retail Solutions at NCR Canada Ltd., "NCR is currently in discussion with several grocery retailers in Canada. These chains are looking at not only improving the quality of their customer service, but also at how ESLs can reduce expenses and enhance their sales and revenues."
In June 2002, the Scanner Price Accuracy Voluntary Code was established through the collaborative efforts of the Retail Council of Canada (RCC), the Canadian Association of Chain Drug Stores, the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers (CFIG), and the Canadian Council of Grocery Distributors. Endorsed by the Competition Bureau, the Code follows extensive consultations between the Bureau and the retail associations. Consumers are encouraged to continue to report any discrepancies in scanner prices to the retailer.
According to John Scott, president of CFIG, "Canadian grocery retailers are committed to accurate scanner pricing. Many are now implementing a variety of procedures that have been developed to augment the already very accurate scanner pricing processes in most stores. New technologies - such as electronic shelf labels - are tools that can assist retailers with the continuing objective of ensuring constant, accurate scanning for all consumers."
About Ipsos-Reid
Established in 1979, Ipsos-Reid is one of North America's leading market research and public opinion companies. Founded by Dr. Angus Reid, Ipsos-Reid is a $70 million company, which has conducted extensive market and social research in 80 countries and in 40 languages, and serves clients around the world through more than 300 professionals and 1,000 data collection staff in 11 offices. The company is a member of the Paris-based Ipsos Group, ranked among the top 10 research companies in the world, with specialties in advertising, media, customer satisfaction, public opinion and market research. For more information, visit: www.ipsos-reid.com.
About NCR Corporation
NCR Corporation (NYSE: NCR) is a leading global technology company helping businesses build stronger relationships with their customers. NCR's ATMs, retail systems, Teradata(R) data warehouses and IT services provide Relationship Technology(TM) solutions that maximize the value of customer interactions. Based in Dayton, Ohio, NCR (www.ncr.com) employs 30,300 people worldwide.
(*) These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid poll conducted on behalf of NCR Corp. between June 4th and June 5th, 2002. The poll is based on a randomly selected sample of 1,000 adult Canadians. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within (+/-) 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult Canadian population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population.
These data were statistically weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to the 1996 Census data.
NCR, NCR RealPOS, NCR RealPrice, NCR RealScan, NCR EasyPoint, NCR FastLane and Teradata are trademarks or registered trademarks of NCR Corporation in the United States and other countries.
-30-
For further information: Mizan Ibrahim, NCR Canada Ltd., (416) 752-3885,
mizan.ibrahim@ncr.com; Lorraine Willson, NCR Canada Ltd., (905) 819-4031,
lorraine.willson@ncr.com |
