Sainsbury’s is ditching its Brand Match promotion later this month as it prepares to cut more prices on everyday products.
The supermarket is understood to be planning to end the scheme, which it introduced in 2011, because changing shopping habits mean it now applies to less than a fifth of transactions.
It is switching investment to cutting prices on basics such as bread, cheese and household cleaning products rather than the Brand Match scheme, which gives shoppers money-off vouchers if they could have bought branded goods cheaper at Asda.
The change comes as shoppers move towards buying little and often, rather than one big weekly shop, so fewer baskets contain the 10 items, including at least one branded product, needed to qualify for Brand Match.
This is the latest step in a change of strategy for Sainsbury’s towards investing in lower everyday prices rather than complex promotional deals. The supermarket promised to invest £150m in November 2014 as part of chief executive Mike Coupe’s recovery plan for the business.
Earlier this year, the retailer, which is currently the best performer of the UK’s big four supermarket chains, said it would phase out the vast majority of multi-buy deals by August in favour of simpler lower prices.
Supermarket pricing tactics have been under scrutiny by the government’s competition watchdog in response to a “super-complaint” lodged by the consumer group Which? last April.
It submitted a dossier setting out details of “dodgy multi-buys, shrinking products and baffling sales offers”, claiming retailers were creating the illusion of savings, with 40% of groceries sold on promotion.
But Sainsbury’s also drew criticism when it stopped handing out vouchers if customers could buy branded goods cheaper at Tesco in 2014.
The chain’s motives are likely to be questioned by shoppers who benefit from money back on branded items.
Several supermarkets have been reviewing their price-matching schemes as the market is gripped by a price war. The big chains are trying to fight off growing competition from discounters Aldi and Lidl.
Morrisons removed the price-matching element of its loyalty card scheme, Match & More, in October – little more than a year after it was launched. Asda is reviewing its Price Guarantee scheme, which promises to refund the difference if the supermarket is not 10% cheaper than its rivals.
The move to stop handing out vouchers if branded goods are cheaper in Asda may raise fears that Sainsbury’s is losing its competitive edge. It is understood that 16% of customer transactions are covered under Brand Match, with the majority of comparable shops being the same as or cheaper than Asda.
