Supermarkets Asda and Morrisons said both would cut prices on essential items as the soaring cost of living crisis forces stores to look for ways to remain competitive.
War in Ukraine has put a squeeze on the cost of essential goods, with grocery price inflation hitting 5.2%, its highest level in over a decade according to data.
Asda, the nation’s third-largest retailer, said it would invest £73mln to cut the prices by 12% on average for over 100 items, such as meat and veg, and keep them low until the end of the year.
Morrisons said it was lowering the prices of more than 500 essential products, such as eggs, cereals and nappies, by an average of 13%.
The UK’s fourth-largest food retailer Morrisons also said it will introduce a number of promotions, such as 'multi save', where discounts can be had on buying more than one of the same item.
As well as that, it will be launching a ‘compare and save’ campaign, pointing out to customers the potential savings to be made when swapping out branded items for their own.
According to Reuters, Asda and Morrisons continually lag behind Tesco and Sainsbury’s, which are both quick to price match German discounters Aldi and Lidl.
Earlier this month, Marks and Spencer were one of the first to cut prices on essential items in order to keep customers.
Despite the price drops, Tesco warned of a drop in profits when it announced in its final results released earlier this month, with Sainsburys set to report its yearly numbers on Thursday.