Co-op is set to open another front in the convenience price war by rolling out its version of Aldi Price Match.
The move, which goes live tomorrow (26 March), will see Co-op matching Aldi prices on over 100 everyday essentials, including fresh fruit, milk, eggs and bread. The initiative will be available across all of the society’s 2,400 UK stores and the prices will be exclusively for Co-op members.
All of the items in the scheme will be Co-op own brand. The retailer said the move was the largest of its kind in convenience stores and a UK-first for quick commerce platforms including Shop.coop, Deliveroo and Uber Eats. It is the latest major pricing initiative from the Co-op after it rolled out its Member Prices deals in April 2023. It said the latest move would bring its total investment into pricing to £170m over the past two years.
It is also a key plank in its ambition to reach eight million active members by 2030. It currently has around 6.2 million members and said that of these, over one million bought at least one of the price-matched products every week.
Some of the Aldi Price Match lines include a pint of Co-op British milk at 85p, Co-op carrots (500g) at 38p, Co-op chopped tomatoes (400g) at 47p, Co-op British chicken breast fillet (300g) at £2.29 and Co-op tiger bloomer (800g) at £1.45.
“I am very clear that, in this current economic climate, price is most often the deciding food shopping factor for our members and customers,” said Co-op MD Matt Hood.
“Which is why we are taking this big step to price match, in our stores and online, as we know discounter prices are often the benchmark of value for consumers, and we are facing directly into that.
“I truly believe we run the best small stores in the UK, loved by our members, customers and communities, where we offer local and convenience shopping with great value and high-quality, carefully sourced products.
“Price has often been perceived as the Achilles heel of convenience shopping, but this new initiative will change that and show there is no compromise in value, quality, or range to shopping conveniently.”
The move comes after Sainsbury’s extended its Aldi Price Match into its convenience stores in November. That initiative covered 200 items and was included in its 800 Local format stores.
Co-op proposition director Adele Balmforth told The Grocer the retailer was constantly working on its price and value perception and Aldi Price Match was “a significant piece in the jigsaw”. She said that while she believed price was a key factor, the quality of the Co-op’s products would prove the “real point of difference”.
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