One dollar each or three for five? Quantity surcharges in New Zealand supermarkets
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: A quantity surcharge occurs when a larger package costs more per unit than a smaller one. Although counterintuitive, such surcharges are common in supermarket pricing. Using manually collected price data from 1,491 product-type–store observations across 38 New Zealand supermarkets, we document their prevalence and distribution. Quantity surcharges affect roughly one in four products, a rate comparable to international evidence. Contrary to our initial expectation, they appear less prevalent in rich neighbourhoods. They also vary sharply across product categories.
Source: New Zealand Economic Papers
Authors: Madhura Banerjee, Jan Feld
Institution: Victoria University of Wellington
Language: English
Subfield: Marketing
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W7165845966