NordenBladet – Lidl* customers in Finland have been left scratching their heads in recent times as the company has made a significant change to its price tags. The prices of products are now printed on the tags in such small font that it is difficult to read them.
The new tags have caused confusion and frustration on social media. Leading consultant Jussi Eronen, for example, has expressed his concerns on Twitter, stating that “for senior citizens, it’s just bullying.”
Lidl has refused to give an interview, and instead responded to a comment request from Iltalehti via email. The Director of Sales and Inventory Management, Akseli Mäkisalo, stated that “the price tag in the image circulating on Twitter is electronic. It’s not immediately visible because the visual appearance of our electronic price tags is very similar to that of paper tags.”
Mäkisalo defended the move to electronic tags by stating that it saves paper and minimizes the risk of human errors when changing tags.
Prices for food and groceries in the country have risen to record highs last year and Lidl, known for its low prices, is no exception. For example, a liter of Lidl’s instant-heat light milk cost 0.95 euros in January but by December the price had risen to 1.49 euros.
There are speculations on social media that the change is intended to make it more difficult for customers to compare prices. Mäkisalo did not respond to questions about whether this is true or how senior citizens or those with visual impairments will be able to read the tags. According to Mäkisalo, the details of the tags are being developed based on customer feedback.
The Competition and Consumer Authority’s, in Finnish Kilpailu- ja kuluttajaviraston, (KKV) specialist Saija Kivimäki states that the Consumer Protection Act regulates the way prices are displayed. KKV guidelines state that “prices must be clearly and individually displayed, so that the consumer does not make a mistake about the product or package. The display must be large enough and easily visible to the consumer.”
Currently, electronic price tags can be found in 16 Lidl stores, but by the end of the year, they will be in use in all stores. So far, there has been very little feedback on the new tags.
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* Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG is a German international discount retailer chain that operates over 11,000 stores across Europe and the United States. Headquartered in Neckarsulm, Baden-Württemberg, the company belongs to the Schwarz Group, which also operates the hypermarket chain Kaufland.
Lidl is the chief competitor of the similar German discount chain Aldi in several markets. There are Lidl stores in every member state of the European Union as well as in Serbia, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States.
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