Shoppers raging over 'extortionate' pricing of deodorant in Tesco and Boots

14 March 2023 , 17:20

1202     0

The deodorant had been incorrectly priced at £6 (Image: @plouise16/Twitter)

Shoppers are accusing Boots and several major supermarkets of "extortionate" pricing after spotting cans of Dove deodorant on sale for £4.50 and as much as £6.

A Boots customer initially expressed their outrage after spotting an aerosol containing 250ml of the daily essential for sale with a price tag of £6 - but Boots has since admitted its pricing was a mistake.

However, people commenting on the customer's tweet said the £4.50 being charged by Boots - the same price it's being sold at Sainsbury's and Tesco, was still "extortionate".

In the original tweet, Paula Louise shared a picture of the product in the Glasgow Fort branch and said: "Hi Boots, are you ok? It's just you're selling a can of deodorant for £6 and I can't quite believe it."

Boots replied: "Hi Paula thank you for flagging this.

Love Island star Indiyah launches beauty box at Boots for £55 that's worth £164

Boots is actually selling the deodorant for £4.50 (Getty Images)

"This new product has been incorrectly priced in our stores. It should be £4.50 in line with the RRP. We are rectifying this and hugely apologise for the error.

"Any customer that has paid £6 will be offered a refund for the difference."

But another Twitter user replied: "£4.50 is absolutely still a p***take".

It appeared the problem wasn't restricted to Boots, with Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury's also "shocking" consumers.

"Now, I thought @Tesco were having a moment when I went to order my deodorant and saw it was £4.50!!!" another internet user wrote.

"I was shocked. This is clearly a @Dove and @Unilever decision to increase the price to their customers, meaning silly prices to us as end users."

Sarah, from Manchester, wrote: "I noticed this deodorant in Tesco yesterday at £4.80 for 250ml."

Another woman said: "I saw it for £4.50 in Tesco and took a gasp."

Dove deodorant and anti-perspirant products are listed online elsewhere for a lower price - though in-store prices can vary.

Dove original scene aerosol deodorant is advertised for £2.10 in Waitrose, while Wilko and Ocado are selling the product for £2.

Beauty fans 'love' £11 serum that gets rid of skin blemishes and acne overnight

However, the same product is listed on the Superdrug website for £4.79.

A Boots customer service adviser said: "This new product has been incorrectly priced in our stores. It should be £4.50 in line with the RRP.

"We are rectifying this and hugely apologise for the error.

"Any customer that has paid £6 will be offered a refund for the difference."

The dispute over deodorant pricing comes as the recent Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation figure for the UK last month sat at 10.1%.

Despite January being the third monthly fall in inflation, the price of food is continuing to rise strongly.

Grocery prices are still up a massive 16.7% with the price of food a huge contributor to why inflation is so high.

Alice Peacock