In a surprise move, retail giants Tesco and Sainsbury's have discreetly pulled the plug on portions of their Aldi Price Match schemes, leaving shoppers to face higher prices on a raft of everyday essentials. Sainsbury's has slashed its price-matching list, cutting items and reducing the overall count from 681 in November 2024 to 606 by mid-February.
Many of these removed items have seen price hikes, including kitchen staples such as sugar, flour, and bread. Meanwhile, Tesco has also made cuts by removing 150 products from its price-match campaign. On another front, Asda has abandoned its matching scheme in favour of Rollback discounts, alongside a new partnership with health guru Joe Wicks.
These changes come amidst revelations by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which on the same day highlighted that food and non-alcoholic drink inflation had jumped from 2% in December to a worrying 3.3% in January – all this despite high-street promises of cost-cutting.
Retail expert Paul Stainton, who conducted an in-depth analysis of the changes published by The Grocer, said the cuts cast serious doubt on the long-term future of supermarket price-matching schemes in the UK. He warned that the move is likely driven by pressure on profit margins, despite Sainsbury’s previously crediting the scheme with boosting market share.
“I was particularly surprised to see basic products like granulated sugar and value bread removed from the scheme,” said Stainton. Such a strategy costs a lot of margin, but it also makes a real difference to customers trying to manage their grocery bills.”.
Sainsbury's first introduced the scheme in 2021, following Tesco's lead. The initiative initially covered 200 products and expanded significantly before the recent cuts. The supermarket even extended the scheme to its Local convenience stores in late 2024, covering 200 key products – but now, its future looks uncertain.
Loyalty pricing schemes and price-matching strategies have helped Tesco and Sainsbury's hold off Aldi's growth in recent years. Tesco's market share climbed to 28.5% in early 2025, up from 27.8% the year before, while Sainsbury's saw a slight boost to 15.9%. But with rising costs and tighter margins, supermarkets seem to be shifting their focus.
.A spokesperson for Sainsbury's tried to reassure customers, saying: "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.". A Tesco spokesperson said: "We work hard to offer our customers the best possible value, quality, and service with every shop. Our powerful combination of Aldi Price Match, Low Everyday Prices and Clubcard Prices ensures we deliver great value for our customers as the UK's cheapest full line grocer.".
