The looming soft drinks sugar levy has created mass confusion among consumers, a new survey has revealed.
Although nearly eight in 10 people are aware of the new tax, which will come into force next April, the Nielsen survey revealed a widespread lack of understanding over which products will be affected.
In the survey of more than 500 adults, nobody correctly identified that the levy only applies to soft drinks.
Two-thirds incorrectly thought it would apply to sweets and sugared confectionery, 59% mistakenly cited chocolate, and similar numbers believed it would affect biscuits (57%) and cakes (56%).
The average person believed it would apply to at least four product categories, while 28% didn’t think it would apply to soft drinks.
“Currently, there’s a huge misunderstanding about what products the sugar levy affects so when it comes in, the government, manufacturers and retailers have an enormous education job on their hands to avoid unforeseen consequences beyond fizzy drinks,” said Sophie Jones, senior shopper analytics consultant at Nielsen.
“Most notably, in high-sugar categories where shoppers incorrectly think prices have gone up or, indeed, any other category where people may offset the higher price of fizzy drinks by buying less of other things.”
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