Nicola Willis Demands Supermarkets Crack Down on Misleading Pricing Practices

New Zealand’s major supermarket chains are under renewed scrutiny from the government as Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis issued a strong warning over ongoing pricing discrepancies and misleading promotions. In a direct letter to the country’s largest supermarket groups—Foodstuffs North Island, Foodstuffs South Island, and Woolworths—Willis restated the government’s basic expectation: full compliance with the Fair Trading Act and immediate action to protect Kiwi consumers from deceptive pricing practices.

A Call for Accountability

Minister Willis’ letter comes amid growing concern from both the Commerce Commission and Consumer New Zealand about widespread pricing inconsistencies in the retail grocery sector. She criticized the supermarket giants for not fulfilling what she described as "basic responsibilities" to maintain accurate pricing, train staff adequately, and ensure systemic fixes when errors are identified.

“It is disappointing that I have to spell out to some of New Zealand’s biggest and most sophisticated retail operators that they should have in place processes to prevent inaccurate pricing, institute and publicise refund policies, and train staff to ensure system-wide corrections occur when errors are reported,” Willis said.

Allegations and Legal Proceedings

Recent developments have intensified scrutiny. Two PAK’nSAVE stores in the North Island—operated under the Foodstuffs cooperative—have pleaded guilty to multiple breaches of the Fair Trading Act. Additionally, the Commerce Commission has filed legal proceedings against Woolworths over allegations it misled consumers about pricing, including instances where promotional pricing failed to represent genuine savings.

Common complaints cited by both the Commission and consumer advocacy groups include:

• Customers being charged more at the checkout than the price displayed in-store

• "Specials" that don’t offer actual savings over regular pricing

• Multi-buy promotions that cost more than purchasing items individually

While Willis refrained from commenting on the ongoing court cases, she made clear her dissatisfaction with the industry’s performance and the urgent need for corrective action.

Financial Power and Moral Responsibility

Willis pointedly noted the scale and profitability of the supermarket sector—estimated at $27 billion in annual revenue—as evidence that the industry can and should do better. “It should not be customers’ responsibility to alert stores to pricing discrepancies,” she stated. “Kiwi shoppers have the right to expect that the price they pay at the checkout is the same as the price they see in the aisle.”

She stressed that these retail giants possess the technological and staffing capacity to correct such issues proactively and systemically, rather than reacting only after public complaints.

Toward Stricter Enforcement

Minister Willis indicated that legislative reform could be on the horizon. She is actively considering introducing tougher penalties and changes to make enforcement of the Fair Trading Act more robust and effective. Currently, the maximum fine in New Zealand for a breach of the Act is $600,000—far less than penalties in jurisdictions like Australia, where the courts can impose fines of up to AUD $50 million.

“This disparity highlights the need to examine whether our legal framework sends a strong enough message to large corporations,” she said.

Next Steps

Willis has requested a formal update from each major supermarket group on what actions they are taking to improve compliance and protect consumers from pricing errors. She emphasized that transparency and accountability are in the interest of both the retailers and the public.

Consumer advocates have welcomed the Minister’s strong stance, saying it marks a critical shift toward prioritizing consumer rights in a highly consolidated and influential sector.

With legal actions pending and regulatory reform under active consideration, New Zealand's grocery retail landscape may soon be facing a reckoning on pricing transparency and corporate responsibility.