Issue 482 - Sainsbury's Price Lock expanded
2 September 2022
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Issue 482 - Sainsbury’s price pushLots of activity here for the Sainsbury’s price push, with 150 fresh products matched to Aldi alongside a new price lock campaign also.
Notably, they used the Tesco signage (as seen here) to highlight the benefits of utilising their self scan system.
Meaning customers are able to keep their eye on their bill as they scan their shopping as they go around the store.
Customers are also able to save £100 a year (or so) by utilising Smartshop, using their mobile phone and Nectar prices (personalised price discounts).
Loyalty is used with Self Scan / Mobile Scan to provide a layer of security for the retailer, generating data for the retailer too.
Aldi Price Match has been a core part of the Sainsbury’s price push and they’ve continually focused upon rotating these products to remain relevant.
The challenge is (as ever) when the product comes off deal, and the price goes up.
The “match” or “Lock” can then have the unfortunate effect of amplifying price hikes which can be problematic for customers.
Sainsbury’s backed Organic well in the past but then lost their way with it, however they were strong on the front foot here. A noted change as they try to differentiate their offering.
HFSS (more to come next week) is featured in Sainsbury’s as they started to adjust their store layouts for the legislation.
We will look at what the stores have been doing next week, but there are changes in the layouts which will impact customers. Gondola ends are changing to feature more healthier products, but others are becoming “flat” with the “end” located inside the aisle.
Value tier brands were imitated from the Tesco strategy of course (this continues apace as a strategy for JS).
There were a number of products that were located in the central aisle; with various value products matched to Aldi and flagged as such.
These are not HFSS relevant products here; note the Cola is (presumably) but this space wouldn’t be used for any HFSS products from October.
It’s a good piece of work in terms of unifying value products, although the range itself doesn’t lend itself well to these products. They’re not designed to be displayed together and don’t stand out too well, but the price match pledge is vital.
An example of the HFSS end that’s now located inside the aisle; we’ll cover this next week across the retail space.
It’s a legislative nightmare with numerous products classified as HFSS, others not. Alcohol isn’t included which means you can have all the Alcohol you want on an end, or featured space, without concern.
A challenge given the health focus of HFSS (high fat, sugar, salt foods) that Alcohol is left alone, entirely.
There are also several confusing elements in the legislation that we’ll cover next week. Alcohol Free G&T cans would be classified as HFSS, therefore banned from the ends on HFSS due to the Sugar content.
However, cans of G&T with Alcohol are allowed on the ends because they’re classified as alcoholic drinks primarily.
Never easy. These in aisle solutions are strong and enable the retailer to still display the products (HFSS) on promotion, albeit just inside the aisle.
For Sainsbury’s - they are certainly firing on all cylinders in terms of value and continue to work hard on highlighting this to customers.
Yellow stripping on the shelves enables deals to stand out in aisle and represents a departure from the “lean” operation we have seen before.
Category specific deals, such as this Frozen promotion drive value for families and also reflect the strength that competitors, such as the Coop have.
Especially given this Frozen deal was very much one of their key value “planks” for a number of years.
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From the Grocery Insight newsletter archive, first sent to subscribers on 2 September 2022. Steve now writes at read.groceryinsight.com. See also the blog archive and briefings.