Sainsbury’s has pledged to match the price of up to 200 Aldi products in its smaller convenience stores to attract more customers.
The move addresses criticism that convenience stores often charge significantly more than larger supermarkets.
Recent research for the BBC showed that items such as frozen pizza can cost 26 percent more in “local” stores than in main supermarkets.
An analysis from Circana, a market research company, highlights that shoppers pay a 10 percent premium for the same items in local stores compared to larger locations on average.
Essentials like bread, prepared rice and ketchup often carry even higher markups, costing as much as 21 percent, 36 percent and 15 percent more respectively.
While other big supermarkets, including Tesco, Morrisons and Asda, have price-matching schemes with Aldi for large stores, Sainsbury’s is the first to extend the practice to its smaller shops.
However, this expanded price matching excludes Sainsbury’s Nectar loyalty pricing, which remains limited to its larger stores.
Consumer watchdogs, including Which?, have long advocated for narrowing the price gap between convenience and main supermarkets.
Its research suggests regular convenience store shoppers could pay up to £800 more per year on essentials, highlighting the growing demand for affordable local grocery options as retailers like Waitrose, Asda and M&S expand their smaller local stores.
Ananda Roy from Circana pointed out that while convenience stores have higher operating costs, and customers might expect to pay extra for added convenience and service, retailers could still do more to narrow the price gap on essential food staples that people purchase regularly.
He added: “The challenge is for greater transparency on price in convenience stores, especially where loyalty and promotion prices are not the same as those offered in other stores.”