Royal Supermarket issues apology for pricing errors

Royal Supermarket issued a statement today apologizing for pricing errors that prompted an outcry on social media and Macau’s Consumer Council (CC) to revoke its “Certified Store Quality Symbol”.

Netizens took to social media over the long Labor Day holiday last weekend to denounce suspected cases of price gouging at several supermarkets in Macau. On Sunday, the government said it had received nearly 400 reports of such activity, which allegedly coincided with the start of the e-voucher subsidy scheme.

By Sunday, product prices at several supermarkets visited by the Times appeared normal, with many discounts offered at the major retailers.

“We apologize for causing public concerns due to the confusion of our pricing, and not being able to care about the most urgent livelihood issues,” Royal Supermarket wrote in its statement, without directly responding to the online accusations.

The supermarket chain said that it would review discount schemes in the near future and make their discounts and privileges more transparent and straightforward. Royal is also deploying more staff to double check the price tags at their supermarket outlets.

The decision to revoke the accreditation on Monday night came a day after the CC had said that the allegations of supermarket inflation was due to pricing errors without intent to overcharge.

Kong Son Cheong, the Head of the Licensing and Inspection Department of the Economic Bureau (DSE), had also said that most cases were found to be related to mistakes on the part of the establishments or their staff members, and the price hikes had been exaggerated by reports on social media.

However, on Monday night, the CC changed tack to say it rejects unreasonable price increases resulting from the pandemic, especially since the launch of the electronic consumer card.

No mention has been made of Macau’s other supermarkets, which have also been criticized by netizens for the same practices. DB/AL