Tesco launches immediate price match guarantee

Tesco will become the first UK supermarket to offer immediate price matching at its tills to ensure customers never pay more for their branded shop compared with other leading supermarkets.

The new ‘Brand Guarantee’, which is a direct result of feedback from Tesco’s customers and has already been trialled in Northern Ireland, compares the overall cost of a branded grocery shop against what it would have cost at rivals Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s.

If the shop would have been cheaper elsewhere, customers will have the difference taken off their bill immediately, both in store and online. The scheme will also price match against promotions at Tesco’s main competitors.

Matt Davies, chief executive officer of Tesco UK and Ireland said: “Shoppers tell us price matching vouchers are a pain and don’t really help them. We all know it can be stressful and awkward when you have to rummage through your wallet to find a price match voucher.

“That’s why we’re ensuring that with Brand Guarantee customers will never lose out on their branded shop by getting money off their bill at the till. We’re working hard to make the shopping trip that little bit easier for customers, with simple, affordable prices you can trust. Brand Guarantee is one more way we are taking the hassle out of a trip to the supermarket or an online shop.”

The move by Tesco comes as new research revealed the extent to which price match vouchers were failing to meet customers’ needs, with UK customers potentially missing out on hundreds of millions of pounds in savings each year.

According to the research, which explored the views of shoppers from across the supermarket spectrum, over a third of Britain’s supermarket shoppers have never used a price matching scheme in-store, rising to 80% online.

At 1210 BST, Tesco shares were down 1.2% at 202.45p.