How to con customers (and yes, supermarkets are very good at this)

Here's a post I long intended to do, and this one prompted me to:
Nothing To Do With Arbroath: EU to ban selling eggs by the dozen

Now, I think the EU needs to improve their PR (and yes, if they've got a grossly overpaid vacant position I'm up for it!): the whole point isn't about eggs, it's about selling two similar products with a different unit. For instance, Tescos's sells fruits -like lemons- by unit, by 6 and by weight. Sainsburys sells some yoghurt by weight and others by volumme.

The shopper is often at pains (this is an euphemism) to compare prices, and I do think this is deliberate.

Now, we've got to thank the EU for many things, including civil liberties (data protection rights), environment (air quality directive, see this post on why it's a good thing for instance with the proposed (and hopefully defunct Heathrow Expansion) and consumer rights (for instance on distance selling or unbundling or mobile telephony). But because it's easier to blame Brussels and take credit for oneself, the population is not sold on the benefits of having directives in the favour of the consumer.

So, while I agree EMP's should have made exceptions for eggs for instance, I think prices should be easily made comparables between similar items in shops. And it's currently often not the case.

Read also my previous posts:

• Supermarkets 2: labeling
• Wall Mart gets it, Sainsbury's doesn't
  

WalMart, Tesco, Sainsbury, supermarkets, richmondtransits.blog, ASDA, labeling, consumer, rights