Tesco has more than halved the price gap between itself and Asda, according to data from The Grocer 100 and The Grocer 33 shopping surveys.
With just three months left to go before The Grocer 33's End Of Year Review in June, figures from The Grocer 100 for the last nine months show that Tesco's average 100-item basket has been 0.76% pricier than Asda's.
Tesco was 1.8% more expensive than Asda in last year's End of Year Review (The Grocer, June 11 2005, p22).
Tesco's price slashing has also become evident in The Grocer 33 weekly survey with it claiming the cheapest 33-item basket for the last two weeks.
Meanwhile, Morrisons looks set to lose its title as The Grocer 33's best supermarket for availability. In the last six-month review (December 17, p22), Morrisons was managing to maintain a slim lead over nearest rival Waitrose.
However, latest figures for the nine-month period show that Morrisons has been overtaken. Waitrose is boasting availability of 98.46%, while Morrisons is at 98.08%.
Waitrose had 19 items out of stock in the 39 shops since last June, while Morrisons has racked up 24.
Morrisons has been showing signs of a dip in availability since the New Year with 11 out of stocks in the past 11 weeks.
The battle for the customer service crown is just as fierce. Morrisons and Sainsbury are currently neck and neck, with each having won The Grocer 33 Top Store Award nine times in the past nine months.
Gaelle Walker

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