The latest data from Assosia reveals a huge gap in the levels of promotions by Morrisons and Asda. James Ball analyses the different strategies


All the major retailers upped their promotional activity this month, for the third time in a row but one led the field by a country mile.

Morrisons increased the number of featured space promotions over the four-week period by an incredible 43% month-on-month and 52% year-on-year, taking the total to more than 2,000 [Assosia 4w/e 11 September].

The other major retailers, however, increased promotions by an average of just 5.6% month-on-month and 18% year-on-year.

Asda showed the smallest increase in offers, at just 0.1% month-on-month, and had the fewest offers of the big four at 1,367.

The difference in the number of deals between Asda and Morrisons now stands at more than 600, and reflects the different pricing strategies of the two supermarkets.

Asda's long-running 'every day low price' approach is reflected in its offers: it tends to reduce staple items, as reflected in the lower starting prices of its items, and then commits to reduce them for a long period.

Asda's Rollbacks run for a minimum of four weeks on fresh produce and 12 weeks elsewhere in the store. And its headline pricing claim for 2009 doesn't relate to deals: it has committed to sell at least 7,000 lines for £1 or less.

Morrisons' approach is different, focusing on attention-grabbing high-profile promotions. These have included 50p weekend deals, often on ingredients for key meals such as Sunday fry-ups. This summer it introduced a buy-one-get-two-free series of deals.

The hefty upturn in Morrisons' deals suggests a new advertising push by Britain's fourth-biggest supermarket is imminent. This is reinforced by the small drop in average savings. When supermarkets up their offers, the average saving typically falls as supermarkets try to reduce the cost imposed. Morrisons has done this, but the average saving has dropped just 1.6 points.

It might not be the cheapest supermarket that crown is still held by Asda but for deal-hunters, Morrisons is the place to be this month.

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