Shopping: Supermarkets prepare to charge more at prime time

Airlines have done it, telephone companies have done it and now supermarkets are looking into doing it too. Clare Garner says dual pricing, whereby the same goods or services cost more or less depending on when they are bought, could be the latest weapon wheeled out in the trolley wars.

Retail analysts are researching ways in which supermarkets and high street stores might implement dual-pricing policies which would result in rush-hour shoppers being charged more than day-time shoppers - or indeed those who shop through the night.

Such a policy is the latest initiative with which fierce rivals can capture the market share. The widespread use of loyalty cards means that the technology is already available; and analysts say it is the obvious next step to take in the fiercely competitive market. Where once consumers were simply "rewarded" for how much they bought of what, soon their score in points could depend on when they shopped.

By charging more at weekends and in the evenings, for example, retailers might hope to encourage "time-rich, cash-poor" customers such as pensioners and single mothers to do their shopping in quiet weekday periods. This would leave stores less congested at peak times, making way for "cash- rich, time-poor" shoppers, who would be charged more, but benefit from shorter queues and better service.

Early signs of dual pricing are already being seen at a number of big chains. Boots the chemists has written to 2 million of its 5 million loyalty cardholders offering them double points if they shop between 6pm and 9pm in the run-up to Christmas.

Mercer Management Consulting, one of Britain's biggest retail consultancies, is said to be looking at "fair and transparent" differential pricing strategies on behalf of several clients, who wish to remain anonymous. "It is certainly one of those things that a lot of companies are very interested in at the moment," said Matthew Isotta, one of the company's vice-presidents.

Robert Clark, executive director of Corporate Intelligence on Retailing, another London-based consultancy, said: "Having introduced loyalty cards and generally getting to know more about their individual customers, they have the technology available to identify when people shop and why they don't shop and when they need to be persuaded to shop."

Safeway already offers discounts to mothers with babies under 12 months, who tend to shop weekday mornings when stores are less crowded. However, a spokesman "categorically denied" that the scheme heralded dual pricing in the future. "That's a loyalty issue. It's nothing to do with timing," he said.

But according to Mr Clark now that most stores have loyalty cards it is back to being "a level playing field". Inevitably, retailers will respond by trying "all sorts of increasingly sophisticated electronic tricks".

Not surprisingly, consumers jump at the chance to save money simply by shopping at a certain time. The experiment has been carried out by B&Q's "Diamond Club", which offers a 10 per cent discount to pensioners who shop on a Wednesday.