The real message from last night’s Dispatches programme about Poundland is surely the extent to which retailers are providing consumers with great value in these straitened times.

The real message from last night’s Dispatches programme about Poundland is surely the extent to which retailers are providing consumers with great value in these straitened times.

Last night’s Channel 4 programme, presented by Daily Telegraph journalist Harry Wallop, notched up Dispatches’ biggest audience in four years and ignited sharply polarised debate – it even trended on social media network Twitter.

Some shoppers featured in the show, and viewers, seemed shocked that Poundland might not, on every single occasion, provide the best value for money – a point clearly evident from the looks of shock on some participants’ faces when told they could get more of a particular product for their pound in retailers such as Asda or Tesco.

But to conclude, as many viewers did, that Poundland is therefore ripping them off is surely mistaken. Yes, they might have got something cheaper elsewhere. But most consumers know there are bargains to be had if you are able to look – it’s called shopping around, and is probably the oldest shopping habit in history. Poundland can certainly hold its own in the melee.

Some of the points made on the programme, such as the use of ‘phantom brands’, are common in retail and there’s no reason either to single out Poundland or to question that approach overall. Yes, Poundland emphasises the range of well-known brands that it carries but so do other retailers that sell ‘phantoms.

From a consumer perspective, the most damaging revelations on the show were the confusing ‘50% extra free’-style messages used on packaging. Subtle arguments about the rights and wrongs of the tactic, or any impact of inflation, would likely be lost on busy mums confronted by what looked like marketing sleight-of-hand.

It was a shame that no Poundland director appeared on the programme. I don’t know whether they were asked and declined, or whether only written responses were sought.

Down-to-earth Poundland boss Jim McCarthy is fleet of foot enough to have held his own on TV and is the sort of person many of his customers could identify with.

In the end, consumers will decide whether Poundland provides value or not. The likelihood is that even though some of its tactics – which are shared by some other retailers - have been laid bare, shoppers will continue to spend their hard-earned cash there. But as the big grocers continue to run eye-grabbing promotions, shoppers can also be confident that there’s genuine competition. Any retailer that fails to provide value for money has not long for the high street.