MANCHESTER, England, March 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Over three quarters of UK shoppers are sick and tired of the deceptive sales tactics being used by Britain's biggest retailers - and it's prompting them to stop spending.
Mistrust of the 'better than half price' sales and 'last chance' offers everywhere goes so deep that two thirds of customers delay making purchases in case they're being conned - a third give up on buying altogether.
Estate agents and furniture retailers are seen as the main offenders, with 95% of shoppers questioned in a new survey highlighting their dodgy pricing policies as misleading.
This comes after Channel 4's 'Secret Shopper' programme exposed the lack of honest pricing in the furniture retail industry, and days after The Grocer magazine revealed Tesco has been duping shoppers in the same way - artificially increasing prices on products for a short period to then promote 'price cuts'.
Sofa retailer csl, who commissioned the survey, is calling for an end to underhand sales tactics. csl is preparing a consumer petition to present to the OFT to try and change the current system, which allows for these practices.
Jason Tyldesley, csl's managing director said: "With the UK recovering from recession, this lack of trust in retailers is bad news, and the furniture industry is the worst offender.
"We've banned price establishment reductions and introduced a new 'best price guaranteed' policy for the best deal all year round.
"We want other high street stores to deal with their customers in a more open and honest way."
Survey commissioned by csl; 1,000 shoppers surveyed on weekend of 5th March 2011
- 83% of shoppers feel that retailers are trying to mislead then with sales adverts.
- Chemists were highlighted as the most trustworthy retailers on the high street, with 45% of those surveyed saying they 'totally trust' them.
- The least trustworthy are furniture retailers, estate agents and electricals/ entertainment advisors.
- 62% of shoppers have found themselves delaying making a large purchase because of confusing sales tactics. 32% delayed their decisions by up to 3 weeks, 28% by over six months and 10% by over a year. 30% abandoned purchasing forever.
csl, which operates from 18 stores across the UK, was established by the Tyldesley family with a single shop in Burnley in 1984.
SOURCE csl
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