BS ISO 21041:2018

What is ISO 21041- Guidance on unit pricing about?  

ISO 21041 is an international standard that provides the best industry guidance on unit pricing to determine the best deal.  ISO 21041 specifies principles and best practice guidelines for unit pricing displayed by written, printed, or electronic means. ISO 21041 includes guidance on: 

• The provision of unit price 
• Units of measure used to express unit price including weight, length, volume, count, area, and other forms of measure 
• The display of unit price 
• Implementation, communication, and education of consumers 

ISO 21041 applies to packaged and non-packaged food and consumer products where the price is displayed, including at a point of sale, including in-store and online, and when relevant communications about the product are released (including advertising by electronic and printed formats). ISO 21041 applies to any retailer, including supermarkets, hardware stores, pharmacies, convenience stores, automotive parts suppliers and pet product suppliers. 

Note: ISO 21041 excludes services and merchandise, such as clothing and electronic goods sold as a single item. 

Who is ISO 21041- Guidance on unit pricing for? 

ISO 21041 on guidance on unit pricing is relevant to: 

• Automotive spare parts supplier and dealer 
• Any retailer including supermarkets, hardware stores, convenience stores and pharmacies 
• Pet product suppliers 

Why should you use ISO 21041- Guidance on unit pricing?  

Unit pricing is the display of the price of a product per standard unit of measure. Consumers use unit pricing as a price comparison tool as a way of identifying products that offer the best value for money. Sustained usage across time is supported when there are periodic education or reminder communications. ISO 21041 is intended to improve the accuracy and usability of unit pricing for consumers.  

ISO 21041 offers retailers, policymakers, and other stakeholders’ guidance for establishing best practices for providing and displaying the unit price of products, including what unit prices are and how they are to be used, by: 

• Defining unit pricing systems and the types of labels and promotions to which they may apply 
• Assisting improvements to current unit pricing 
• Enhancing transparency of pricing information to consumers. 

ISO 21041 assists in providing consumers with better tools to compare prices, especially where package sizes change, and retail prices remain the same. This helps in consistently determining actual price savings when “sale” items are effectively marked with unit pricing. ISO 21041 assists in increasing consumer satisfaction, improving pricing accuracy, increasing sales of retailer branded products and depending on the jurisdiction, removal of the need to display the selling price on each item of the packaged product. 

With compliance and obedience to guidance under ISO 21041, you can introduce voluntary or mandatory unit pricing systems and help enhance the existing voluntary or mandatory unit pricing systems to ensure that consumers are provided with information that is easy to notice, read, understand and use.