Both Marks and Spencer Group PLC (LSE:MKS) and J Sainsbury PLC (LSE:SBRY) have announced a new round of price cuts as they look to win back market share from discounters Aldi and Lidl.
Sainsbury’s brought the total items part of its Aldi price match to over 550 this month, while almost 6,000 products can now be bought cheaper with Nectar points.
This means the UK’s second-largest supermarket invested £220 million into lowering prices over the financial year and £780 million over the last three years.
Products like croissants, baby wipes and minced meat have all been added to the Aldi price match scheme, with ingredients for a prawn and courgette pasta dropping by close to a pound this month.
Simon Roberts, Sainsbury’s boss said the group “is committed to helping customers enjoy good food, whatever their budget.”
“We have made further investments this month in lowering prices on own brand fresh family favourites to help customers stay healthy this winter, including fruit and veg staples like berries, prepared salads, sugarsnap peas and mangetout,” he added.
M&S said it would be cutting the prices of 65 of its products by an average of 6%.
Examples include frozen strawberries being cut from £3.20 to £2.50 and fairtrade bananas dropping from £1.90 to £.16.
The UK supermarket is also extending its price lock of 100 essential products until after Easter.
Price-locked products, which saw sales rise by 28% in the third quarter, include shower gel, cheddar cheese and minestrone soup.
Alex Freudmann, managing director of M&S Food: “Our customers are telling us that value is still very much front of mind as we start off 2024. In response, we need to keep delivering on our trusted value promise – offering the best possible quality at the best possible price.”
Shares in M&S are down half a percent on Monday at 249p, while Sainsbury’s shares rose 0.4% to 282p.