Sainsbury’s led an increased level of promotional activity in the UK grocery sector last month, according to the latest data from the just-food Promo Tracker.
Four out of the six retailers monitored by the Tracker – Tesco, Asda, Ocado and Sainsbury’s – had a higher percentage of their SKUs on offer in May than in April, the figures showed.
However, the Tracker, compiled exclusively for just-food by mysupermarket-insights.co.uk, showed the biggest month-on-month increase was at Sainsbury’s. In April, 35.2% of its SKUs were on promotion; in May, that went up to 39%.
The average saving per promotion increased at Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Ocado, although at Asda it fell when compared to the levels the Tracker reported for April.
Waitrose ran less promotions as a proportion of the SKUs it offered month-on-month, although the average saving increased in May compared to a month earlier.
Frozen pizza and bread broke into the top five most-promoted categories.

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By GlobalDataPepsiCo’s Snack-a-Jacks, General Mills’ ice cream Haagen-Dazs and Waitrose’s private-label convenience food range Good To Go moved into the top ten most-promoted brands in May.
Supermarket | Total number of SKUs | Number of Promos | % of all SKUs on promo | Average saving per promo |
---|---|---|---|---|
Tesco | 35050 | 14168 | 40.42 | £1.01 |
Asda | 28979 | 6148 | 21.22 | £0.52 |
Sainsbury’s | 25141 | 9806 | 39 | £1.13 |
Ocado | 21092 | 7608 | 36.07 | £1.41 |
Waitrose | 22745 | 6453 | 28.37 | £1.15 |
Morrisons | 11298 | 4962 | 43.92 | £0.47 |
Category | PcntOfPromos | AvgSavingPerPromo |
---|---|---|
Yoghurt & Milk Drinks | 66.3 | £0.49 |
Frozen Vegetarian | 58.8 | £0.52 |
Crisps | 57.46 | £0.55 |
Yogurts | 55.8 | £0.33 |
Frozen Pizza & Breads | 54.39 | £0.58 |
Baby Food & Snacks | 54.2 | £0.2 |
Chilled Desserts | 52.64 | £0.3 |
Cooked, Prepared Meat & Poultry | 49.3 | £0.68 |
Snack Meals | 44.47 | £0.29 |
Ice Cream | 43.3 | £0.98 |
Pasta Sauce | 42.04 | £0.54 |
Tinned Pasta | 40.63 | £0.25 |
Cereal Bars | 40.42 | £0.6 |
Fresh Vegetarian Food | 39.78 | £0.66 |
Fresh Pasta & Pasta Sauce | 39.65 | £0.49 |
Cheese Snacks | 39.15 | £0.57 |
Sausages & Burgers | 39.05 | £0.52 |
Frozen Ready Meals | 38.56 | £0.52 |
Fruit | 37.78 | £0.65 |
Fresh Pizza & Chilled Bread | 37.68 | £0.77 |
Brand | PcntOfPromos | AvgSavingPerPromo |
---|---|---|
Reflets de France | 98 | £0.4 |
Daylesford | 95.1 | £1.42 |
Benecol | 89.1 | £0.58 |
Actimel | 87.8 | £0.66 |
Activia | 87 | £0.26 |
Muller | 86.4 | £0.39 |
Snack-a-Jacks | 84.5 | £0.32 |
Häagen-Dazs | 75.3 | £1.46 |
Tilda | 75.1 | £0.69 |
Waitrose Good to Go | 73.5 | £0.52 |
Tesco Italian | 72.5 | £0.49 |
Tyrrells | 71.1 | £0.53 |
Rachel’s | 70 | £0.3 |
Walkers (Crisps, Snacks & Dips) | 69.9 | £0.52 |
Batchelors | 69.8 | £0.21 |
Robinsons | 68.9 | £0.72 |
Ben & Jerry’s | 68.6 | £1.27 |
Alpen | 67.6 | £0.42 |
Bassett’s | 66.3 | £1.15 |
Green & Black’s | 66.2 | £0.69 |