How to avoid being hit by “pink tax” as a woman in the UK

How to maximise your purchasing power and avoid pink tax as a woman in the UK

With the rising cost of living, Brits budgets are increasingly looking for ways to make small daily savings to ease financial pressures. However, new research has highlighted that women could be paying more for products than men – “pink tax” remains a significant and unfair expense affecting millions of UK women.

Following International Women’s Day, earlier this month, NetVoucherCodes conducted an analysis of 120 price comparisons across 20 essenial personal care and clothing products to determine whether similar or identical products are costing women more than men on average (TLDR – they are). The study examined price differences in gender-marketed everyday products, such as perfume, razors, deodorant, jeans, and more.

 Ellie Macsymons, consumer expert at NetVoucherCodes comments:

“For example, Dior’s perfume from Boots costs £72 for 30ml, whereas Dior’s aftershave equivalent costs £85 for 60ml – which is nearly twice the price for the same volume. Elsewhere, Gillette’s female branded razorblades cost £5.72 for 3 (£1.92 per razor) at Waitrose, whilst male-marketed equivalents retail at £7.80 for 8 razors (£0.98 per razor).”

Whilst more could be done by brands, savvy shoppers can take note of  these four tips to help keep costs down and avoid pink tax where possible.

Ellie’s top four tips to dodge the pink tax:

1. Avoid pink products: “Pink-branded products are often unclearly priced higher on purpose, so if you’re reaching for a pink-coloured item on your next shopping trip, be sure to check the unit price and compare it to similar products on the shelf”

2. Don’t fall for multi-pack deals: “Don’t be fooled into assuming a multi-pack deal is always value for money. Double-check how many items are included within a multi-pack offer to ensure that you are paying a fair price per individual item, especially for products such as razors or socks.”

3. Double check your online basket: “When it comes to online shopping, it can be harder to determine the product size or weight of an item you’re considering purchasing, given you are selecting items without physically handling them. Taking the extra time to read the product specifications such as weight or milligrams per product for each item can be a worthwhile cost-saving exercise.”

4. Use online price comparison tools: “Utilise shopping price comparison websites, such as Trolley.co.uk, to understand the difference in costs for products at alternative shops to make sure you’re not overpaying where possible.”

The research by NetVoucherCodes reveals that UK women are forking out £126 more per year than men for everyday essential purchases – equivalent to a pink tax of £4.34bn for the entire UK population of 34.5m women. Additionally, the cost comparisons revealed products marketed to women and featuring “pink” branding are, on average, 14% more expensive than the same products marketed to men.

The data reveals that the top products women pay more for include perfume (£38 more per year), moisturiser (£35 more), and razors (£17 more) compared to men. Other notable products included clothing items, where women are paying on average £15 more for both shirts as well as £15 more for jeans per year.

Out of the 20 products analysed, only 4 items had higher costs for male-marketed items, including pyjamas (£8 more), underwear (£8 more), socks (£3 more), and hats (20p more) per year – ironically, products that are often given as Christmas gifts to men by family members.

For further tips and deals, visit NetVoucherCodes money saving guides.