These are the last days to take advantage of exceptional promotions on many products.
Three tubes of toothpaste at half price, 70% off a softener and a household product, -80% on packs of 108 diapers! Yes, these are indeed promotions that are underway. And it’s better to seize the opportunity because these will never come up again… Carrefour, Leclerc and even Lidl have launched super promotions in recent days and are slashing prices on hundreds of their references for the last time. In the future, these products will no longer be able to be sold off as much because of a new rule.
From 1er March, supermarkets will be prohibited from making certain reductions with the entry into force of a new law more strictly regulating the practice. The Decrozaille law, which will be applicable next month, will regulate the reduction of several prices. And that’s not good news for the consumer’s wallet.
The text in fact provides for limiting to 34% the reductions that can be applied to non-food products. Thus, everything relating to hygiene, home maintenance or even perfumery will no longer benefit from significant discounts. A hard blow for households, many of whom are waiting for this type of offer to make their purchases.
A framework which is added to that already in force on food products. Pasta, rice, meat, fish, fruit, vegetables or even eggs and dairy products cannot be sold with a promotion of more than 34%. So no more hoping for big discounts on your receipt!
If this new law will increase the average price at checkout, it mainly aims to better remunerate product manufacturers – in the same way as food producers.
When promotions are applied, this is effectively the result of a negotiation between the manufacturer and the supermarket, often to the supermarket’s advantage. Indeed, the latter has the weight to encourage the manufacturer to sell his product cheaper and continue to put it forward on the shelves, even more so at a discount. Thus, the promotion applies because the distributor bought the product cheaper and has (almost) not cut back on its margins.
From now on, the negotiating margin will be less for Leclerc, Casino or even Intermarché. If this system is supposed to allow better remuneration for farmers since 2019 – never yet proven by the figures – it will offer, with these new rules, more fixed remuneration to the non-food giants. “It is not adapted to the actors or the moment. We are not talking about protecting small SMEs but about favoring multinationals,” criticized Philippe Moati, professor of economics at Paris Cité University and specialist in mass distribution, nearby Pilgrim.