Cheeky Sainsbury's

I’ve written before about how useless the downtown Sainsbury’s in Winchester is. I’ve noticed, however, they have recently put up a cunning sign, which, paraphrased, reads:

‘We are currently experiencing a shortage of organic milk. [And indeed they were, the shelf was empty]. However, Sainsbury’s XYZ milk is available, and 5p from each pint goes to farmers to help them convert over to organic production.’

Sainsbury’s, here’s a hint: I’m not interested in voluntarily subsidising farmers’ investment in their own production and helping you and them to solve logistical and production problems. Yes, I’m happy to buy organic milk at a price premium, and, yes, I’m aware that most of the difference goes to Sainsbury’s, not the farmers. But asking me to voluntarily pay extra to you and the farmers for no tangible benefit is taking things a bit too far - I’m going to fall on the tight-fisted side of your price targeting.

Chapter 2 of The Undercover Economist contains a good discussion of price targeting, including the usual suspects such as M&S; and Fairtrade coffee.