Cinema Sweet Prices Rip Off

LadyMorticia

I remember when my foster mum and the kids used to go to the cinema.They used to have a backpack each filled with a drink and some sweets. They never got searched or anything. I can't blame her bringing sweets from home to be honest. Cinema prices are extortiante enough but with 5 kids, the price goes through the roof.

xx

JohnG

We occasionally go to the cinema and we always take our own drinks and a few sweets with us as the prices they charge on site are horrendous - tickets are enough thanks very much. So far we have never been stopped (probably will now I said it on here).
Even so, we do sometimes buy a carton of Pop Corn but can never get over the fact that the smaller carton is barely any cheaper than the larger size! Why can't they be just a bit more customer friendly with their pricing policy?
I bet if they were to make their prices more competitive they would sell much more which in turn would probably see better profits!

upferret wrote: »

(btw you wouldnt believe what people leave in a cinema screen! one time a manager found a poo in a bag!) .

Incredible, still look on the bright side, at least it was in a bag! :rolleyes:

uktim29

JohnG wrote: »

I bet if they were to make their prices more competitive they would sell much more which in turn would probably see better profits!

See my earlier post, that doesn't work!

98jdougl

JohnG wrote: »

We occasionally go to the cinema and we always take our own drinks and a few sweets with us as the prices they charge on site are horrendous - tickets are enough thanks very much. So far we have never been stopped (probably will now I said it on here).
Even so, we do sometimes buy a carton of Pop Corn but can never get over the fact that the smaller carton is barely any cheaper than the larger size! Why can't they be just a bit more customer friendly with their pricing policy?
I bet if they were to make their prices more competitive they would sell much more which in turn would probably see better profits!




Incredible, still look on the bright side, at least it was in a bag! :rolleyes:

This is to encourage you to buy the bigger size- if there is only a 40p difference between regular and large you are quite likely to pay that extra, which boosts our SPP and gets me free ice cream :P

chriz1000

At the end of the day I don’t think complaining about the confectionary prices is the way forward. If people have money to burn let them buy the expensive confectionary. Most cinemas wont give too hoots if you bring a bottle of drink and a bag of sweets in, especially if it’s in your pocket. However if they were to bring there prices down they would have to recoupe the money lost through the ticket prices.
Running a cinema is an expensive business. To rent the amount of space they do, and hire all the staff isn’t cheap, plus they pay huge royalties. Warner Bros tried to do things the American way, they built decent comftable cinemas the confectionary prices were reasonable. However couldn’t even justify keeping their cinemas because the profit margins were so low.

I say leave the prices as they are, just don’t buy confectionary from the cinema unless you have some money burning a hole in the bottom of your pocket.

taxiphil

uktim29 wrote: »

I don't understand the "rip off Britain" lot.

I bet for every item/service you can find cheaper on the continent/the states I can find just as many that are more expensive. McDonalds/Starbucks already spring to mind, both cheaper in the UK than the States.!

Huh?

You mean like, for example, these popular food items on the website of McDonalds in the USA...

http://www.mcdonalds.com/usa/eat/features/dollar.html

That's a shade over 50 pence for a McChicken Sandwich, medium drink, medium fries, two apple pies, a salad or double cheeseburger.

I think you'll find all those items cost at least double, if not treble or quadruple in the UK.

And although I can't find Starbucks prices online, I can tell you that after having been to several Starbucks in New York last year, that prices are between 40%-60% higher in the UK.

Although this report is now out of date, it does bear me out: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/2266939.stm

Starbucks Tall filter coffee UK £1.45 ($2.25) US £0.99 ($1.55)

uktim29 wrote: »

It's true, most people that use that expression do so without doing any proper research into price variations from country to country.

Come on then, show us your research that shows that McDonalds and Starbucks are "both cheaper in the UK than the States".

I'd like to see it.

taxiphil

uktim29 wrote: »

I have worked in umpteen different business's which all have had premium prices on confectionary/drinks. All have experimented with pricing eg bringing it more inline with supermarket pricing to see if it makes more money. It never did.

What more proof do you want?

Actual proof would be nice.

Never in my life have I seen a cinema or motorway service station competing with supermarkets on price. I'd love to see at least one specific example which didn't just involve taking your word for it.

I'd be amazed if dropping prices to be in line with supermarkets didn't result in an increase in sales.

uktim29

It's not about competing on price but the actual price charged. If they lowered the price of confey/drinks etc they would not more profit.

As I have now said twice I've worked in locations mthat have had premium prices on confey/drinks. All have had some new bright spark in head office whos though lets lower the prices we'll make more money. 2 weeks later it would get dropped when it didn't work. It would happen every 2/3 years or so.

There are not going to be any online studies etc so your not going to get any such links.

Otherwise apart from links etc I've business experience of premium pricing, all other posters suggesting this pricing system doesn't work have none. Again I'll write what more evidence do you want, yes I know I can't post links etc but what more evidence would you want that actual recurring case studies.

Do the maths, it's profit not sales I'm talking about. Say a supermarket buys an item for 90p & sells it for £1. Thats 10p profit. Say a cinema charges £1.50 thats 60p profit. That what premium pricing does. Even if you lower prices and sales double, you'd only be making 2 lots of 10p so 20p, but originally you were making 60p profit, your still losing out.

Believe me it doesn't work!

Regarding your other post their dollar menu obviously is the same as our pound menu. I don't bother with so items but know that back in 2006 a meal option cost more in the states, which your link posted shows! Also remember we have VAT added to ours and although the US has a sales tax that varies it's much less than VAT. With VAT the margin with a 50p menu would probably be negative, such prices such as say a 73p menu don't market as well!

taxiphil wrote: »

Come on then, show us your research that shows that McDonalds and Starbucks are "both cheaper in the UK than the States".

I'd like to see it.

I'll use the link you posted.

"Big Mac meal UK £3.29 ($5.11), US £3.34 ($5.19)"

Also as I suspected from your link you posted phil...........

"I lived in the US for years, and the initial feeling that things were cheaper there is deceiving. A decent loaf of bread costs $3-4 in the US compared to 60p in the UK. A 'colonial' pint (16 fl oz) of decent beer costs $4 plus tip in the US compared to £2 in the UK. Bank accounts - free in the UK - tend to charge $10 a month for your account in the US. And electricity costs can be high too - I paid $60 per quarter compared to £15 now.
M Williams, UK "

MEMBER02

uktim29 wrote: »

Do the maths, it's profit not sales I'm talking about. Say a supermarket buys an item for 90p & sells it for £1. Thats 10p profit. Say a cinema charges £1.50 thats 60p profit. That what premium pricing does. Even if you lower prices and sales double, you'd only be making 2 lots of 10p so 20p, but originally you were making 60p profit, your still losing out.

Profit its daylight robbery,eg 200gr sunkist toffee popcorn sainsburys £1.05 cineworld £3.20,so say sainsburys buy in for 95p they make 10p profit,cineworld are making a scandlous £2.25 profit,its greed and nothing else,how can they justify these profit margins? i know they have to charge more but a hugh £2.15 more that is really taking the p*ss:mad:





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uktim29

MEMBER02 wrote: »

how can they justify these profit margins?:mad:

Read the other posts of the thread.

I'm not sure why your comparing un-cooked foods with cooked. You'll find the price mark up is the same everywhere in that case. If I buy 3 sausages, some chips and a bit of salad from Sainburys it'll cost me around £1.50, ok I know sausages come in packs but by the time you divide the portions down etc but if I get the same from a pub I'd pay £7.

Doesn't that make the cinemas mark up seem cheap now? They still have to do exactly the same as a pub, cook it, clean equipment, hire staff, clean up after people etc. But everyones seems happy to pay pub prices for food?

Your also the person who said this is another example of "rip-off Britain", well all cinemas are exactly the same in every other country!