Boots the Chemist - watch their pricing!

tallbird_2

Just a note about Boots the Chemist pricing strategy. The pricing instore can be significantly higher than buying exactly the same product from them online. I bought a pack of 30 Fybogel drink sachets in-store this week, costing over £11. I queried this with the store staff, and later with customer services, as it usually retails at between £7-£8. Customer Services confirmed that store pricing is often higher than online as they are considered two separate businesses. In this case the product was not a stock item in my local Boots and was only there as a pharmacy item, yet they were willing to sell it to me. When I looked online it was under £8 due to a 10% discount promo. This means their in-store price is almost 50% higher than online! Admittedly it's a bit of a one-off due to it not being a stock item in my local Boots, but nevertheless, a bit naughty! It goes without saying that you should click and collect to avoid paying delivery charges. Boots were unwilling to refund me the difference or take the product back. Very disappointing for a company which promotes itself as wanting to "help customers look and feel better". I didn't feel too good after spending £4 more than I needed to!!!

Pollycat

tallbird_2 said:

Just a note about Boots the Chemist pricing strategy. The pricing instore can be significantly higher than buying exactly the same product from them online. I bought a pack of 30 Fybogel drink sachets in-store this week, costing over £11. I queried this with the store staff, and later with customer services, as it usually retails at between £7-£8. Customer Services confirmed that store pricing is often higher than online as they are considered two separate businesses. In this case the product was not a stock item in my local Boots and was only there as a pharmacy item, yet they were willing to sell it to me. When I looked online it was under £8 due to a 10% discount promo. This means their in-store price is almost 50% higher than online! Admittedly it's a bit of a one-off due to it not being a stock item in my local Boots, but nevertheless, a bit naughty! It goes without saying that you should click and collect to avoid paying delivery charges. Boots were unwilling to refund me the difference or take the product back. Very disappointing for a company which promotes itself as wanting to "help customers look and feel better". I didn't feel too good after spending £4 more than I needed to!!!

Nothing unusual in this.

pmduk

Sadly, I suspect few people are going to be surprised in finding Boots to be over-priced these days.

jon81uk

tallbird_2 said:

Just a note about Boots the Chemist pricing strategy. The pricing instore can be significantly higher than buying exactly the same product from them online. I bought a pack of 30 Fybogel drink sachets in-store this week, costing over £11. I queried this with the store staff, and later with customer services, as it usually retails at between £7-£8. Customer Services confirmed that store pricing is often higher than online as they are considered two separate businesses. In this case the product was not a stock item in my local Boots and was only there as a pharmacy item, yet they were willing to sell it to me. When I looked online it was under £8 due to a 10% discount promo. This means their in-store price is almost 50% higher than online! Admittedly it's a bit of a one-off due to it not being a stock item in my local Boots, but nevertheless, a bit naughty! It goes without saying that you should click and collect to avoid paying delivery charges. Boots were unwilling to refund me the difference or take the product back. Very disappointing for a company which promotes itself as wanting to "help customers look and feel better". I didn't feel too good after spending £4 more than I needed to!!!

This is the important part. You didn't buy an item from Boots stock, you bought a prescription item without a prescription. As you bought the pharmacy stock, not the store stock you were charged the appropriate price. If that stock normally stocked the product and you bought it from the normal stock you would have paid the lower price.
You were also free to say no at that price, walk away and buy from elsewhere. No one forced you to pay the higher price for the pharmacy stock.