Tesco has significantly reduced the number of products it claims to match Aldi prices on, after changing the way it verifies the comparisons.
The number of products in Tesco’s price match campaign has fallen from a peak of 790 in August 2024 to about 645 this week, according to Paul Stainton, partner at private label consultancy IPLC.
Tesco has put the reduction down to a recent change in the methodology it uses to determine whether a product can be included. Products are now included only if the claimed Aldi equivalent can be found in at least 10 of the discounter’s stores, where previously Tesco treated five stores as sufficient.
The change is said to have been made so Tesco can focus the campaign more on key lines that are most important to customers.
However, Stainton – who closely monitors supermarket price-matching schemes – said he believed the reduction was also Tesco’s reaction to a BBC Panorama investigation in September.
The programme looked at 122 products in Tesco’s campaign and found 37 contained less of the main ingredient than Aldi’s. It put the spotlight on Tesco value tier own brands, such as Hearty Food Co, in particular.
The number of Hearty Food Co lines in Tesco’s campaign has dropped since 1 August last year from 36 to 13, according to Stainton. Other Tesco value tier own-brand lines have also fallen in number: Grower’s Harvest from 27 to 16, Ms Molly’s from 16 to five and Eastman’s from 19 to nine.
“Tesco were shown to be price matching their value tier against Aldi’s standard tier own label,” said Stainton. “It’s not a surprise that Tesco subtly removed many of these items from the price match to avoid further negative reaction.”
Read more: Asda ends its Aldi and Lidl price match scheme
The reduction across Tesco’s standard tier own-label products is only slight in comparison, from 265 to 253.
Stainton said many of the other lines removed were brands that Tesco had price matched against the same brand on sale for a limited time in Aldi’s middle aisle, meaning it would not necessarily be available across the discounter’s estate at one time. As a result, the number of brands in Tesco’s scheme had dropped from 245 to 181, he said.
Brands removed from Tesco’s scheme include Blue Dragon, Douwe Egberts, Fanta, Hartley’s, and Old El Paso, all of which were limited-time Specialbuys at Aldi, according to Stanton.
“I’ve always said that Tesco’s decision to include many of the branded food specials that Aldi sells gives them the headache of monitoring stocks of the brands in Aldi, and results in their price match list changing frequently,” he said.
Tesco said it was incorrect to suggest the reduction was a reaction to the Panorama investigation, and the greater majority of lines removed were a result of its change in methodology.
A Tesco spokesperson said: “We work hard to offer our customers the best possible value, quality, and service with every shop. Our powerful combination of Aldi Price Match, Low Everyday Prices and Clubcard Prices ensures we deliver great value for our customers as the UK’s cheapest full line grocer.”
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