Sainsbury's has significantly reduced the number of products included in its Aldi Price Match campaign, mirroring similar moves by competitors in what analysts suggest could signal the beginning of the end for such schemes.

The Grocer has reported that Sainsbury's has cut the number of price-matched items from 681 in November 2024 to 606 by mid-February 2025, representing a reduction of more than 70 products.

Many of the items removed from the scheme are Sainsbury's own-label products spanning various categories including everyday staples and ambient food. According to Paul Stainton, partner at private label consultancy IPLC, "In almost all cases, Sainsbury's has since increased the price to above Aldi's."

Stainton expressed particular surprise at seeing everyday essentials such as granulated sugar and value bread removed from the scheme, suggesting the contraction is due to "margin pressure created by matching Aldi."

The move follows Tesco's decision to remove approximately 150 products from its own Aldi Price Match scheme, while Asda has completely ended its price match initiative that had covered both Aldi and Lidl.

A Sainsbury's spokesperson defended the changes, stating: "Much like the price of individual products, the number of items in our Aldi Price Match campaign can go up as well as down. That doesn't stop us offering outstanding value throughout the year across thousands of items, whether that's through Aldi Price Match, Low Everyday Prices, Nectar Prices or our value Stamford Street range."

The spokesperson added that Sainsbury's has "invested £1bn into value in recent years," noting that customers are responding positively as "more and more customers are choosing to do their shop at Sainsbury's."

The price matching strategies, alongside loyalty pricing schemes, have been credited with helping both Sainsbury's and Tesco increase their market share. According to recent Kantar data, Tesco's market share rose to 28.5 per cent in the 12 weeks to 26 January 2025, up from 27.8 per cent a year earlier, while Sainsbury's share increased from 15.7 per cent to 15.9 per cent.

Despite these gains, Stainton believes the recent reduction in price-matched products across multiple supermarkets "places a question mark over the long-term future of such schemes in the UK."

Morrisons currently maintains approximately 470 products in its Aldi and Lidl price match scheme, making it one of the few major retailers still fully committed to the strategy.

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