Unit pricing – or comparative pricing – is a way for retailers to show the price of a commodity in relation to a standard unit of measure, such as the kilogramme or litre. For example, for a 500 ml carton of milk offered at USD 1.95, the unit price would be USD 3.90 per litre.
However, this is not always consistent across retailers or products, creating an added layer of perplexity for shoppers and doing little for consumer trust. ISO 21041, Guidance on unit pricing, aims to clear up the confusion by defining unit pricing systems and enhancing transparency of pricing information.
Price transparency is one way of gaining consumer trust by making purchasing choices easierIn a recent study conducted by the Queensland University of Technology, Australia, consumers reported a significantly greater ability to process price information and higher confidence in their price judgements when unit prices are presented consistently within stores.
Additionally, the research indicated that standardized unit price presentation was associated with more favourable attitudes toward retailers.