‘Are you profiting off a world pandemic?’ Outraged customers take aim at M&S for selling hand sanitiser at £11.50 a bottle
- Price for 500ml bottles of Belux sanitiser is almost double similar products
- On Amazon the same gel costs just £7.99 – around 30 per cent less
- In Boots a different brand sells for £4.15 or 83p per 100ml compared with M&S’s £2.30 per 100ml
Marks & Spencer has been accused of cashing in on the crisis by charging £11.50 for hand sanitiser.
The high street giant’s price for 500ml bottles of Belux sanitiser is almost double similar products elsewhere.
On Amazon the same gel costs just £7.99 – around 30 per cent less.
In Boots a different brand’s 500ml bottle sells for £4.15 or 83p per 100ml compared with M&S’s £2.30 per 100ml.
Marks & Spencer has been accused of cashing in on the crisis by charging £11.50 for hand sanitiser
The high street giant’s price for 500ml bottles of Belux sanitiser is almost double similar products elsewhere
The pricing has angered customers. Amy Woods tweeted: ‘I’m just wondering what magical power this hand sanitizer has to justify why you’re charging £11.50?? Or are you simply profiting off a world pandemic?’
Ash Stanley wrote: ‘Wow @marksandspencer, £11.50 for hand sanitiser, is it made from platinum?’
A third, Elaine Hanan, added: ‘I have to say I am in shock. I was delighted to see hand sanitizer… took two, one for me and one for my daughter with a 7 week old baby.
‘Thought bill was high – so checked when home to find you charged £11.50 for ONE hand sanitizer. Where is the integrity?’
M&S said: ‘To help our customers whilst there’s high demand, we’ve temporarily introduced branded products – competitively priced at £2.30 per 100ml.’
Hand sanitiser has been in high demand since the start of the coronavirus crisis as Britons seek to stop themselves from catching the disease.
The pricing has angered customers. Ash Stanley wrote on Twitter: ‘Wow @marksandspencer, £11.50 for hand sanitiser, is is made from platinum?’
In March, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) warned firms they could be prosecuted or fined if they hike prices on hand sanitisers and disinfectants.
High street chains across the country were also forced to limit purchases as products sold out nationwide.
In response to the crisis, some firms, including beer company BrewDog, started making their own alcohol hand gel.
Announcing the release of the product, which they made at their distillery in Scotland, Brewdog announced on Instagram: ‘Say hello to Punk Sanitiser … It’s time to keep it clean,’ the firm wrote on Instagram.
The move, they added, was ‘to help with the shortages’, as they were determined ‘to do everything we can to try and help as many people as possible stay safe.’
The new hand sanitiser takes it name from BrewDog’s popular Punk IPA craft beer.
Perfume labels Christian Dior and Givenchy as well as Absolut, which makes vodka, also turned to making hand gel.