Marks & Spencer accused of exploiting pandemic by selling hand sanitiser bottles for £11.50

Cost of product has been called 'shameful' by consumers on Twitter

Marks & Spencer has been accused of exploiting the coronavirus pandemic by selling bottles of hand sanitiser for more than double the cost of its competitors.

Demand for the product has increased rapidly during the coronavirus crisis, as people have been encouraged to regularly wash their hands or use hand sanitiser if soap and water are not available.

In recent weeks, Marks & Spencer has been advertising 500ml bottles of Belux hand sanitiser in its stores for £11.50, costing twice as much as equivalents found in other high street retailers such as Boots and Superdrug.

Branded 500ml bottles of hand sanitiser can currently be purchased from Boots for just £4.15, while Superdrug is selling 300ml of hand gel for £3.49.

The cost of the product has been called “shameful” by consumers on Twitter, with many calling on the supermarket to change their pricing.

“Saw this on sale at my local M&S today. Couldn’t believe the price: £11.50 for a bottle of hand sanitiser,” wrote one person alongside a photo of the product on the retailer’s shelves.

“Tragic deaths should not be exploited by M&S - currently charging £11.50 for a bottle of hand sanitiser during the Covid19 crisis,” another added, while a third person wrote: “I expect this behaviour from lesser companies, but thought better of you?”

Marks & Spencer has since responded to the criticism, explaining that it had initially priced the product at £15 by mistake before the price was dropped.

“We’ve been selling our own brand hand gel for £2 per 100ml for over two years,” a spokesperson told The Guardian.

“To help our customers whilst there’s high demand, we’ve temporarily introduced branded products into our stores - competitively priced at £2.30 per 100ml.

“When Belux was introduced last month, we sold it at the wrong price for a couple of hours and customers would have course of been entitled to a refund of the difference.”

In March, Boris Johnson suggested the government could bring in new laws to prevent companies from profiteering during the pandemic.

The Competition and Markets Authority has also warned retailers and traders they must not try and “take advantage of people” concerned about the outbreak of coronavirus and said it would take strict action, meaning anyone trying to inflate prices could be fined under competition laws.

Despite the warning, many of the country’s supermarkets’ and health retailers’ own brand products have been being re-sold on eBay for extortionate prices.

Lidl hand sanitisers, which are normally sold for 49p in-store, were being listed by third parties for as much as £24.99, while Morrisons' £2 hand sanitiser was being sold for £29.99 – a 1,400 per cent increase.

The Independent has contacted Marks & Spencer for comment.