Sainsbury’s is to expand its Aldi Price match to its convenience store network for the first time.
From 4 November, Sainsbury’s will match 200 of its “most popular” breakfast, lunch and dinner lines to the discounter, in all 1,400 of its Local convenience stores.
The price match will replace Pocket Friendly Prices as the retailer’s primary value campaign across its c-store estate.
Included in the initial 200 lines are “daily staples” from the By Sainsbury’s range like bread, butter, jam, pasta, potatoes and vegetable oil. Tuna, chicken and steak will also be matched to Aldi’s prices.
“Since setting out to put food back at the heart of our business four years ago, we’ve invested nearly £1bn in value,” said Sainsbury’s CEO Simon Roberts.
“Our Next Level Sainsbury’s strategy is about giving customers more of what they come to Sainsbury’s for – outstanding value, unbeatable quality food and great service.
“In our Sainsbury’s Locals, we’ve worked hard to offer market-leading prices on essential items and popular breakfast, lunch and dinner staples. When you’re shopping in Sainsbury’s Locals, you can be sure of excellent value, quality and choice.
“With Christmas just around the corner, we know that every penny counts and we are committed to helping our customers make the most of the festive season.”
Since Tesco became the first supermarket to begin price matching Aldi, the measure has become a key part of the full-line grocers’ fightback against the discounters. Sainsbury’s also has followed Tesco’s lead with its Nectar Price loyalty scheme, and everyday low prices, as part of a strategy that Roberts credits with helping it claw back share from “both ends” of the market.
The introduction of price matching to c-stores comes as Sainsbury’s has launched a major refresh of its c-store estate, which kicked off last month. By rebalancing store layouts and product ranges, Sainsbury’s said it had increased the number of lines in store by 7% in total, with an emphasis on “food on the move”.
Convenience store pricing has come under increased scrutiny during the cost of living crisis, from consumer groups like Which?. The CMA also identified “higher priced” convenience stores as one area retailers could do more to help provide better value to customers.
In response, grocers have been working to increase the number of lowest-priced lines available across their estate. Last December, Sainsbury’s added more than 200 own-label lines to stores. It included products that were already matched to Aldi in its supermarkets.