UK retailers Sainsbury’s and Asda have questioned Tesco’s price comparison coupon scheme, which launched across stores today (12 March).
Tesco has launched Price Promise, a comparison of the price of branded and own-label products at its stores with its rivals Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons.
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The till-based system gives consumers a voucher of up to GBP10 if their “comparable shopping” would have been cheaper at their rivals.
The scheme is an extension of an existing trial of a point-of-purchase voucher system in Northern Ireland.
Sainsbury, however, said the promotion is just Tesco “playing catch up”. The UK’s third-largest retailer introduced its own Brand Match comparison scheme in October 2011.
“Sainsbury’s launched Brand Match 18 months ago. It compares around 14,000 product prices every day with prices at Asda and Tesco, including promotions, and has benefited millions of our customers,” a spokesperson said.
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By GlobalData“It’s just one part of our work to ensure Sainsbury’s customers get a good deal, which also includes targeted and meaningful offers, whether that’s Direct Mail, a coupon at the till, or the Nectar loyalty programme.”
Tesco believes it is the first major retailer in the UK to compare its prices against the branded and own-label prices of its competitors and give customers an automatic coupon for the difference.
Nonetheless, Asda struck a similar note to Sainsbury in its response to the scheme. “With the Asda Price 10% Guarantee our promise is to beat prices, not just match them,” a spokesperson for the retailer said.
