Tesco and Sainsbury’s are at loggerheads once more over suggestions customers may be trading down and putting price before all else in their purchasing.
Tesco has pointed to price as a priority while Sainsbury’s ceo Justin King has insisted customers continue to make rounded decisions and will buy Fairtrade and organic foods, according to analyst Bloomberg.
“People are trading down by making adjustments in their expenditure,” Tesco marketing director Carolyn Bradley told the Retail Week conference in London. “Price is where you have to start.”
King said feedback from Sainsbury’s customers suggested people will still pay higher prices for better quality produce and the retailer would not be compromising, unlike others on the high street.
“For most other supermarkets, they have to compromise on values for entry level,” he said.
Tesco increased its range of low-price branded products this month as shoppers curb spending during the recession.
“Ethical concerns may be second to price right now. Everybody’s feeling it, everyone is affected. It’s very clear that it has moved from the City to the home,” said Bradley.
King said customers are “sticking with the shop and changing what they buy,” while the competitive climate is “no more or less than usual,” and price cuts are “part of the cut and thrust” of the supermarket sector.
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