Asda has stepped back from a price cut-driven promo strategy to become the biggest supermarket for multibuys.
A year ago Asda ran 6,977 promos, of which only 28% were multibuys [30 June 2025] and 72% price only promotions including Rollbacks.
That has now reversed. The latest data shows Asda ran 6,845 promos of which 57% were multibuys [29 June 2026]. The average multibuy saving is the same (28%) while the saving for single price cuts has deepened from 19% to 24%.
The reversal means Asda leaned more heavily on multibuy promotions than any other full range retailer. Multibuys accounted for less than 50% of promos at Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose, analysis of Assosia data shows, although in several cases the total number of deals was higher.
“Multibuys remain very popular with shoppers – they are just as likely as money-off promotions to encourage purchase,” said Catherine Shuttleworth, CEO of shopper marketing agency Savvy.
“Our research shows that 71% of grocery shoppers say a multibuy promotion would encourage them to choose one brand over another.
“That appeal isn’t consistent across all shopper groups, though. Families – who are more likely to make use of the extra volume – significantly over-index, with 93% saying multibuys encourage them to buy. Given Asda’s shopper base skews towards families, this strategy makes sense.”
Asda brought back its Rollback price cut campaign in January 2025, shortly after executive chairman Allan Leighton rejoined the supermarket.
However Shuttleworth suggested the focus on EDLP would be harder to maintain than when Rollbacks first launched in the 1990s.
“Before Aldi and Lidl, Asda were always the cheapest. EDLP worked then as they could command better deals from suppliers and sell more,” she said. “But it’s much harder to complete in that space now when Aldi and Lidl have gained so much market share and are perceived by many shoppers as being cheaper.”
“EDLP only works if you are EDLC. The problem is Asda are in a huge spending period and have more complexity with convenience and home shopping.”
Focusing on multibuys may lead shoppers to stock up during promotions and prevent them from splitting their basket across multiple retailers, distinguishing Asda from the price-led promo strategies of the discounters.
Multibuys can put additional pressure on supply chains and lead to availability issues. The return of multibuys may therefore also reflect improved confidence in Asda’s systems after its beleaguered Project Future integration programme hammered availability, Shuttleworth said.
Asda declined to comment.
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