From the 1st, it is obligatory to display the total price of goods and services including consumption tax.
While it makes it easier for consumers to understand the actual price to be paid, some businesses have the impression that the price will increase, and some are concerned that sales will decline.
In October 2013, before the consumption tax rate rose from 5% to 8%, the Special Measures Law was enacted to conditionally allow labeling of goods and services without tax, but it will take effect on 31st. Is gone.
Along with this, from the 1st, "total amount display" including consumption tax is obligatory.
For example, if the price of the main unit is 1000 yen for a product or service, the business operator needs to display it as 1100 yen, which is the price including tax.
It is permissible to display both tax-included and tax-excluded prices, but the government requires that the tax-included price display not be extremely small.
Mandatory gross display makes it easier for consumers to see what they actually pay.
On the other hand, some businesses are worried that sales will drop due to the impression that the price will increase, and some will cut the price so that the apparent price will not change even if the price tag of the sales floor is changed to the total price display. There is also movement.
Shoppers "I want to see it firmly"
In the retail industry such as supermarkets, there are some concerns that displaying prices that were previously displayed without tax may lead consumers to feel that the price has increased and refrain from buying.
Under these circumstances, at supermarkets in Adachi-ku, Tokyo, in order to make shoppers feel as cheap as possible, not only the total price including tax but also the main unit price excluding tax will be displayed from around the middle of last month. I was busy replacing it with a new price tag that displayed two different prices.
At this supermarket, we have introduced three machines with a unit price of 100,000 yen that can print two types of prices, tax-excluded and tax-included, on a single price tag.
For products such as fruits and vegetables whose prices change depending on the purchase of the day, price tags printed by this machine are attached one by one.
A woman in her 50s who came to shop said about the total amount display, "I feel it is expensive, but it is easier to understand if it is displayed with tax included. It seems that the correspondence differs depending on the store, so I would like to see it firmly."
According to a survey by the Japan Chain Stores Association, when the total amount was required to be displayed in April 2004, sales of supermarkets nationwide decreased by 4.4% compared to April of the previous year.
It is believed that consumers felt that the price had risen, which led to refraining from buying.
Tomoya Akatsu, general manager of Benny Supermarket, said, "I would like to consider various ideas while watching the reaction of customers so that the price does not seem to increase even if the total amount is displayed."