We are surrounded by measures that - due to the twin pressures of oil and raw material price increases - encourage manufacturing industries to put their prices up.
The government seems sure that, like King Canute, calling on the price waves to go back is all that is needed.
In this case, it is asking retailers to restrain price rises. Presumably, it expects retailers to agree on keeping the price of certain products low. This would, of course, mean retailers forming the sort of illegal cartel the government is currently levying huge fines for.
If manufacturers are to contain outbound prices they need to increase real revenue, not merely maintain retailer margins as prices for finished goods and sales decline.
Increased turnover is available simply by improving store compliance with POP. Retail buyers and store managers agree that POP compliance fails by 20% (on average) and is worth some £400m per annum at retail.
Storecheck and POPAI have launched an industry initiative to collect compliance data with a view to giving retailers a measure of the scale of the problem - and the areas to address (check the Storecheck or POPAI site for details).
This may be a drop in the bucket, but I'm sure Canute would have agreed that it is worth trying anything to avoid getting your feet wet.
Colin Harper is MD at Storecheck Marketing
Has the number of customer complaints about the price of goods increased recently?
