Asda is claiming to have fired the final shot in the supermarket price war with the launch of the Asda Price Guarantee, a new online tool the Walmart-owned retailer said would enable it to guarantee the lowest prices.

If shoppers can purchase a basket of eight or more comparable products cheaper elsewhere, Asda is promising to give them the difference, plus a penny.

The guarantee covers 13,000 branded and own label products, as well as items on promotion.

To access the tool, shoppers must first do their shop at Asda then the following day go to the retailer’s website and enter their receipt details. Then the shopper will be able to see how much their shop would have cost at the other supermarkets.

If the shop would have been cheaper elsewhere, Asda will offer a printable voucher for the difference that can be redeemed in-store.

“From today Asda cannot, and will not, be beaten on price,” said chief executive Andy Bond.

“Our grocery guarantee puts an end to the phoney price wars that most shoppers are sick of. Plain and simple, this is our cast iron promise that your basket of shopping will always be cheapest at Asda.”

Mysupermarket.co.uk will compare like-for-like branded or own label groceries, accounting for around 70% of all grocery sales at Asda.

It could not compare 10% of Asda lines as they are unique to the store while the remaining 20% could not be compared because of differences in the size of packs.

An Asda spokeswoman told The Grocer the tool would also be useful for discovering information about customers.

However it seems unlikely that this will put a stop to retailers arguing over price. And Tesco has already questioned how effective the new tool would be.

"Customers love the simplicity of Clubcard. A million more customers have signed up since the introduction of Double Clubcard Points," said a Tesco spokesman.

Read more
It’s the end of an era at Asda - but the beginning of what? (17 April 2010)
Asda still busy with deals despite vow to return to EDLP (10 April 2010)
Asda stops promotion overdose and puts the focus back on EDLP (20 February 2010)

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