Tuesday 2 December 2008

Cheaper than water

This blog posting makes the point very clearly that newspaper claims that beer is being sold by supermarkets for less than water are grossly misleading, as they are not comparing like with like. The comparison is between a very cheap bottom-end lager and a premium branded water. However, the average price of beer sold in supermarkets would still be far higher per fluid ounce than the price of water.

This is similar to the oft-repeated canard that pubs sell soft drinks for more than beer, whereas in reality, especially when you consider the actual quantities purchased, beer is on average considerably more expensive, drink for drink.

2 comments:

  1. Not that I necessarily agree with it, but the point is a more general one of an untaxed product being sold cheaper than a heavily taxed one.

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  2. Yes, but we are comparing a premium brand bottled water with a fairly weak, downmarket lager, which I doubt was being sold at a loss.

    There would have been several brands of water being sold in that supermarket at considerably cheaper prices than Skol.

    Likewise with soft drinks in pubs, J2O will cost more per fluid ounce than mild, but that is hardly a cause for moral outrage in the Daily Mail.

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