Dan Douglass on direct

Dan Douglass

So The Grocer believes the 99p culture is dead - killed off by pound shops and more sophisticated shoppers who can spot a 99p deal coming a mile off - and automatically round off in their heads. The penny is of no interest to them whatsoever, say the analysts - a cynical ruse to conceal the real rounded price whose virtue is its honesty.

The round pound is here to stay, they say - and products now sport '£1' or '£2' in big, bright, colourful packaging as a badge of honour. But I'd say its death is greatly exaggerated. Try telling MacDonald's that a penny short of the pound is a moribund sales technique. Or, for that matter, British Airways, who practice the technique on a more elevated scale for a higher net worth customer.

British Airways sale prices all end with an naughty nine, as if £299 to Dubai is a vastly better deal than the £300 plus it once was. In fact, one glance at today's offers and you'll clock Eurostar's £59 return to Paris and Harry Potter DVD's at £4.99 in Sainsbury's.

We're all still rather fond of our end nines. Could it be that, with the new sobriety and the age of the frugal shopper, 99p takes on an added symbolism, meaning and nostalgia that the round pound simply can't achieve? The '99 with a flake in it' type of nostalgia that we all crave after this economic hammering we've all taken? By the way, a chicken breast sub is a very tasty £2.99 at Subway. Reassuring to know, isn't it.