Sainsbury’s has announced today, that it will no longer include Tesco in its price comparison scheme, and will now only match its prices with Wal-Mart’s Asda. The 'Brand Match' initiative involves shoppers’ receiving coupons for the difference, if they could have paid less at Asda.
The change is a part of Sainsbury’s price strategy, in which it is lowering the price of products across its grocery business. A spokesperson for Sainsbury’s commented that the move comes on the back of customer research, which showed that “Asda is seen as the benchmark on price,” adding that Sainsbury’s had lowered base prices on around 1,200 lines over the past 18 months.
Sainsbury’s is currently competing with Asda to be Britain’s second biggest grocer. However, it has recently seen its quarterly sales growth come to an end, for the first time in nine years, in the fourth quarter of its 2013-14 financial year.
Furthermore, Sainsbury’s has reported another quarterly sales decline in the fist quarter of its 2014-15 year. Second quarter sales figures are due to be published on October 1, and will be presented by new chief executive Mike Coupe. Sainsbury’s sales fell 1.8% in the 12 weeks to September 14, whilst the overall grocery market is growing at its slowest rate for over 20 years, according to industry data published this week. Tesco shares continue to fall, following an accounting scandal on Monday.
© 2014 - Checkout Magazine by Emily Horne.
