Tesco fires fresh price salvo as shoppers tighten purse strings

The grocer is slashing prices on hundreds of products throughout January as part of its ongoing centenary celebrations, marking ‘100 Years of Great Value’.

The offers will stretch across brands including PG Tips, Birds Eye, Cathedral City, Colgate and Persil.

Members of Tesco’s Clubcard loyalty scheme will be able to benefit from dozens of further price reductions as part of the supermarket giant’s Clubcard Prices initiative.

The latest stint of Clubcard Prices, which were introduced last year, will include 20% off Tesco Finest sandwiches and 10% off the retailer’s own-label Go Cook pans and roasting trays.

The cuts come as research conducted by Tesco revealed that 24% of Brits said they would look for deals to save money in 2020, while 40% said they would set themselves stricter budgets this year.

Tesco’s move will apply fresh pressure to its mainstream grocery rivals, following what analysts believe to have been a challenging Christmas trading period.

Shore Capital head of research Clive Black said it was “not likely to have been a stellar” Christmas for food retailers.

Black suggested “the big four are likely to lag” behind the growth of Ocado and discount duo Aldi and Lidl, although he said Tesco is expected to emerge as “the most robust” performer of the multiples.

Morrisons, which house broker Shore Capital predicted would be the “weakest” of the big four over Christmas, will update the market on its quarterly trading performance tomorrow.

Sainsbury’s posts its figures on Wednesday, with Tesco’s update coming a day later in what will be a packed week of retail trading updates.