With the grocery price war putting the emphasis on Everyday Low Pricing (EDLP), promotions have taken something of a back seat this month, according to the latest figures supplied to The Grocer by retail analysts Assosia.

All the top six leading grocery retailers cut back on deals for the four weeks to 11 May compared with the previous four-week period - with the exception of Tesco, which offered 2,489 deals in featured space over the period. This was 8.22% more than it carried during the previous four weeks and 13.55% more than the 2,192 deals it had run a year ago.

The 189 additional deals this month meant Tesco significantly closed the gap with Sainsbury’s - the biggest promoter for some time. Tesco offered just 82 fewer deals than Sainsbury’s over the period.

The number of deals at Sainsbury’s fell 5.34% month-on-month but was up 4.85% on the same period a year ago.

Meanwhile, as part of Morrisons’ turnaround plans, which saw the retailer slash the prices of 1,200 everyday essential lines this month, it is aiming to run fewer but more targeted promotions. In April it also removed its promotional dump bins in a bid to make stores clutter-free and easier for shoppers to get around.

However, the impact of this has yet to be fully felt. With 2,215 offers, Morrisons was offering just 0.23% fewer deals than during the previous four-week period, equating to five fewer deals. It also meant Morrisons had just over 5% more offers than over the same time last year.

At Asda the number of offers dipped below 2,000 after falling by more than 7% both month on month and year on year. While it was offering marginally more savings over April, its average saving per deal was 4.7% less than a year ago.

Sainsbury’s was also offering significantly smaller savings than last year (down 8.56%), while The Co-operative Group, Morrisons, Tesco and Waitrose were all offering larger deals.

When it comes to the type of offer available, the retailers seem to be pushing for more clear, easy-to-understand deals. Of the six main types of mechanic typically run by supermarkets, only basic ‘save’ increased its share of all promotional activity.

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