Consultation opens on draft regulations of unit pricing

This new pricing standard will help consumers compare grocery prices more easily by requiring the consistent display of unit pricing in New Zealand’s major grocery retailers.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment (MBIE) is consulting on the draft Consumer Information Standards (Unit Pricing for Grocery Products) Regulations 2023 that will put this standard in place.

This is an opportunity for consumers and industry to give feedback on the technical details of the draft regulations, to ensure it will work effectively in practice.

In December 2022, the Government announced new rules to require supermarkets, and other large grocery retailers, to clearly and consistently display unit pricing – such as the price of a product per kilogram or litre.

Under the new regulations, unit pricing will be mandatory in grocery stores with a floorspace above 1,000 square metres, as well as grocery stores with a floorspace under 1,000 square metres who choose to display unit pricing voluntarily. It will also be required in online grocery stores and in some forms of advertising.

The consultation will run for 4 weeks and closes on 12 May 2023.

For more information on the regulations and to have your say, visit MBIE’s website.

Seeking feedback on an exposure draft of the Consumer Information Standards (Unit Pricing for Grocery Products) Regulations 2023