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Sainsbury's to cut price of Valentine's Day cards for husband cards after charging 50p more

'Less dogs for the money too!'

Supermarket Sainsbury’s has changed the prices on their Valentine’s Day cards after being caught charging more for cards for husbands.

Julie Marlow was picking out a Valentine’s Day card for her husband when she noticed a price discrepancy on cards marked “For My Husband” - which cost 50p more than the “For My Wife” version.

Calling out the supermarket chain on Twitter, Marlow wrote: “@Sainsburys usually love your cards but what’s going on here? Why do I have to pay 50p more for a card for my husband than he has to spend for virtually the same card?” alongside a picture of the two similar cards.

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Apart from the intended recipient, the two cards look almost identical - with the For My Wife card featuring a second dog wearing a rhinestone collar but costing just £2, compared to the £2.50 for the other card.

According to Dr Panos Sousounis, a lecturer in economics and finance at Keele University, who spoke to BBC, the unfair pricing may have been based on assumptions about women’s shopping habits.

He said: “Retailers think that women are more willing to spend more money on a Valentine’s card so they price it a little higher.”

However, whether women are more likely to spend more or not, the supermarket has promised to re-price the cards after tweeting to Julie the pricing “doesn’t seem right.”

And in a follow-up tweet, a representative for the supermarket wrote: “I can confirm that this was an error and has since been rectified. Both cards are now £2.”

As Brits spend almost £40.2m on Valentine’s Day cards each year, each penny makes a difference.  

The card pricing error comes just days after the store announced they would be selling Valentine’s Day cards for same-sex couples for the first time ever, with prices starting at £1.99.

This Valentine's day, maybe give the gift of love with a handmade card instead.