WHSmith prices 'should be illegal' after selling £4.19 Pepsi
Welsh snooker legend Mark Williams recently posted a picture of a checkout screen in WHSmith, where it showed a 500ml bottle of Pepsi Max costing £4.19.
Williams was at Heathrow Airport at the time. Airports across the country are slightly notorious for charging inflated prices.
At the time of writing, a 500ml bottle of Pepsi Max from Tesco costs £1.59.
Customers subsequently blasted the store.
WHSmith pricing should be illegal in general, no clue how they get away with it https://t.co/MajNLaSHTg — Sel (@SA1903_) June 4, 2025
One said: "WHSmith literally sold off their entire High Street business but kept travel hub shops for this very reason. It's like printing money and they don't care about the customers."
Another commented: "Smiths are proper cosy cosy with all the airports, word is they mark up their prices by 50% and go halters with the airport the shops located in".
Someone else replied: "I paid that in Liverpool airport a couple of weeks ago, couldn't believe my eyes".
Another said: "WHSmith pricing should be illegal in general, no clue how they get away with it".
Some, however, defended the pricing.
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Replying to the previous post, a user commented: "It's in an airport mate".
To which he responded: "Expensive in other WHSmith stores too hence why I said general".
Airports tend to be expensive due to a combination of factors, including high operational costs, the captive audience they serve, and the unique challenges of operating within a confined space.
These costs are then reflected in higher prices for food, beverages, retail goods, and services within the airport, as well as in airline ticket prices, which often include airport fees.
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