Tesco is revamping its Price Promise scheme and will roll out the changes to stores across the UK from today, Retail Week can reveal.
- ‘Brand Guarantee’ will replace ‘Price Promise’ from today
- Customers will get instant savings at checkouts, but Express stores not included
- Boss Dave Lewis vowed to “pull the trigger” on price
The supermarket giant is poised to introduce the newly named Brand Guarantee initiative that will give customers instant savings at the checkout if their shop would have been cheaper at big four rivals Sainsbury’s, Asda or Morrisons.
Retail Week understands the scheme will only apply to branded products when shoppers have purchased 10 items or more. The basket can be a mixture of Tesco own label and branded goods, but savings will only apply to the branded products, it is understood.
It is thought that the scheme will not be adopted at Tesco Express convenience stores, but shops in the grocer’s Extra, supermarket and Metro estates are all set to use the initiative.
Sources close to the situation told Retail Week that Brand Guarantee had already been trialled in Northern Ireland and had “gained traction” among shoppers.
The decision to roll it out across England, Scotland and Wales came after Tesco scrapped the Price Promise scheme in Ireland, prompting speculation that it could also be canned in the UK.
Rival price match schemes
Details of the move emerged days after Morrisons said it was abandoning its Match & More price match scheme to create a simpler loyalty programme. Customers will now get five points for every £1 they spend in store. Once they reach 5,000 points they will receive a £5 voucher.
Sainsbury’s has its own Brand Match scheme, but it only applies to equivalent shops in Asda.
Tesco’s current Price Promise scheme, which was also piloted in Northern Ireland prior to a wider roll out in March 2013, gives shoppers a voucher to use on future purchases if their basket is more expensive than it would have been at Sainsbury’s, Asda or Morrisons.
Under the new Brand Guarantee initiative, any savings that could have been made at Tesco’s big four rivals will be removed from a shopper’s bill at the checkout, giving Tesco instant price parity with its competitors on branded products.
Tesco boss Dave Lewis said earlier this week that he was ready to “pull the trigger” on price.
But he played his cards close to his chest when asked by Retail Week about potential changes to the Price Promise scheme following the grocer’s interim results.
He said: “We test all sorts of different mechanics. There’s a difficulty in changing a mechanic and finding out what the customer response is, so we test lots and lots of different things.”
“I would never talk about what I might do for the customer before I did it, neither in this case or with anything we do.”
No hassle
Tesco UK and Ireland boss Matt Davies said: “Shoppers tell us price matching vouchers are a pain and don’t really help them. We all know it can be stressful and awkward when you have to rummage through your wallet to find a price match voucher.
“That’s why we’re ensuring that with Brand Guarantee customers will never lose out on their branded shop by getting money off their bill at the till.
“We’re working hard to make the shopping trip that little bit easier for customers, with simple, affordable prices you can trust. Brand Guarantee is one more way we are taking the hassle out of a trip to the supermarket or an online shop.”
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