Accusations of Hiking Prices During Lockdown

Supermarkets have been identified as essential service providers during lockdown. To date the stores and their personnel have at large received praise for facing up to the challenges during these trying times. There was however also negative press coverage and social media postings on “price gauging” during lockdown.

Some of these allegations might be true, but some might also be incorrect due to consumers’ perception that prices have suddenly increased, but where it is in fact promotions that have ended. It goes without saying that that this type of negative publicity causes serious reputational damage and needs to be disproved immediately where it is incorrect. The following link represents an example of this:
https://www.supermarket.co.za/news-article.asp?ID=8429&CatTags=17-Crime%20and%20security

The first image below is a sample of a till slip where items were purchased on promotion – note, the stars depicting 3 different discount/promotion types.

Below is a short guide on Arch functionality, and how both the till slip and sales report can assist to contest false allegations.

The second image is a sample sales report which indicates a promotional discount per item sold. The report can be drawn for any selected period to prove that the price hasn’t changed, but that the item was rather sold at a promotion price.

We trust this will assist in addressing possible problems. Happy and safe trading!

The rising cost of software licenses for ERP systems has become substantial, especially for smaller retailers.