Consumer Experts Urge The End of ‘Pink Tax’ in Australia

Consumer experts are urging Australian retailers to end ‘pink tax’ after British supermarket Tesco stated it would cut the price of its basic women’s razors to match that of similar men’s razors.

Tesco was slammed after it was revealed that it was charging twice as much for the pink version of the product, selling its pink disposable twin-blade razors for 20 pence (35 cents), while the men’s product, which is identical except for the blue colour, was only sold at 10 pence (17 cents).

It seems Australia also experiences this ‘pink tax’ problem. Media spokeswoman for consumer group Choice, Kate Browne hoped price parity is observed on similar products.

“While market segmentation is a reality in the market and has been for a long time, we would certainly like to see price parity between identical products despite the market they are being aimed at,” she told the ABC.

Ms Browne also pointed out the problem of across-the-board market segmentation, where marketers appeal to a narrow range of consumers to sell various versions of the same product. “We see this across a range of products from personal care products, men’s deodorant versus women’s deodorant … and children’s toys where we often see a girl’s and a boy’s version of the same product,” she said.

In last year’s investigation by The Times, Tesco’s razors were singled out after it discovered that products aimed at women and girls cost, on average, 37 per cent more than almost identical products for men.

The Guardian reported that British Labour backbencher Paula Sherriff has called on Tesco to quit charging more for women’s products, to which Tesco’s commercial director for packaged goods, Kari Daniels, replied in a letter that the price disparity was not driven by gender bias.

“The difference is driven by the fact that male razors are produced and sold in significantly higher volumes, which reduces the price we pay for them.

“However, following an internal review and discussions with our suppliers, we have acted on concerns about the difference in price of our female and male disposable twin-blade razors.

“We have aligned the prices of these products so that the male and female razors are the same price per unit,” the letter reads.

Choice now warns consumers to be cautious of clever marketing.

“Look beyond design, and in some cases fragrance, that have been created to appeal to your gender and see what else is available.

“If you don’t mind slightly different packaging and smells you may find something similar that costs a lot less “” we’ve seen up to 50 per cent mark ups on almost identical products depending on which gender it’s being set up to appeal to.

“If you are shopping in a supermarket, use unit pricing as often products will look like they are priced similarly but one will contain less product “” often the one designed for women,” Ms Browne said.

Source: Abc.net.au