Sainsburys "Brand Match" rip off.....

losgiganteskid

Very occasionally I shop at Sainsburys - you are probably aware that if you spend over a certain amount they will price match against what a specific item would have cost you if you had been shopping in either Asada or Tesco.

What the marketing people linked to Sainsburys have come up with is an opportunity (and it is only an opportunity) for you to receive a discount/refund to bring the price that Sainsburys was trying to sell the item for down to the more realistic price that either Asda or Tesco are selling for.

If Sainsburys know at the time of purchase that you have been over charged (viz a viz what Asda or Tesco would have charged) why don't they just knock the price difference of your bill there and then ? - suppose that would be too easly for them ! - instead they offer you a voucher off your NEXT shop with Sainsburys. Suppose they are really saying, sorry folks if you had gone to Asda or Tesco your shopping bill would have been cheaper - but don't worry we will retain the monetary price difference and we will return it to you by way of discounting the bill off your next shop - oh ! and by the way you have to come back and shop with us within the next couple of weeks otherwise you can say goodbye to your discount.

I'm wondering just how much this initiative is saving Sainsburys they must know at any one time how much total "credits" have been issued and they also know how many are redeemed.

Credits given less credits redeemed = extra Sainsburys profit

If I were trying to compete with the likes of Asda and Tesco I certainly would not want to have come up with an initiate such as this

cox377

It gets consumers back through the door, to spend their voucher on their next shop.

The consumer also get a feel good factor when they've got a credit in their hand.

In addition, as you mention, Sainsbury's hold onto the value until of the credit until you use the voucher, if you use the voucher & doesn't get lost/misplaced/forgotten about.

They are after all, an organisation which has to be competitive whilst generating a profit to cover it's operating costs & pay dividends to it's share holders.

losgiganteskid

cox377 wrote: »

They are after all, an organisation which has to be competitive

In that case all they need do is to identify which products are cheaper at either Asda or Tesco and reduce their shelf price accordingly

DCFC79

Its been running for a little over a year now so cant be that bad, is it a scam though.

fionajbanana

The one good thing about Brand Match is it benefits those customers that don't have a computer and/or access to the internet as with Asda and Tesco, you need these to check your receipt. Asda do have a colleague or two extra on the customer service desk when they had the spend £40 get a fiver off next time.

Another benefit with the brand match happened to me the other week, Got to the car, packed my boot and forgotten the risotto rice. Popped back in with my 65p BM coupon and it only cost me 50p.

markwilkinson

I don't see anything "rip off" about it, as your title suggests.

GinaG3

It does have an advantage to those who a) are weary of shopping online due to card security (there is a lot of them out there still) b) dont have another shop in their immediate vicinity and Sainsburys is there local supermarket. With me for example this is the case, I'm in a central london location but my local is 2 giant Sainsburys. Tesco, Asda and Morrisons are all in neighbouring places and would mean a cab to carry shopping back as I wouldnt manage it on the bus. If I shopped in Sainsburys I could still get brand prices matched to the likes of Asda but without travelling to their store, it would therefore be an advantage. I give it a miss though and get my shopping delivered online from whoever is cheapest that week, namely Asda lately. But if I couldnt do this, for whatever reason I'd be happy to pick up my shopping at Sainsburys knowing brands in my basket were being matched to whatever stores were offering the same product cheaper (if they were). I wouldn't say it was a scam just offering a choice for shoppers who may not have a choice, and an incentive for the store to have customers who keep on coming back to them.

frugal_shopper_2

Surely the most significant way the sainburys brand match differs from Asda or Tesco's own schemes is that customers get the voucher on the spot rather than having the hassle of having to visit a website to get it calculated & issued. All such schemes seem to result in vouchers being issued to spend in their shops.
Yes all supermarkets could modify prices to be in line with each other but that would border on price fixing which is definitely frowned upon.

jamesey39

There is another way to look at this.

Sainsburys Brand Match is intended to show us all that they are great value, and if they are not then they will pay you the difference.

I know for a fact that Brands account for less than half of the average family shopping trolley.

So my question is this. Is a comparison that involves less than half of your shopping fair??

browneyedbazzi

losgiganteskid wrote: »

In that case all they need do is to identify which products are cheaper at either Asda or Tesco and reduce their shelf price accordingly

I disagree...competition isn't about price alone. It is also about service, quality and the overall customer experience. Sainsburys might be a bit more expensive for some things (not all, and if you are are flexible in your shopping and buy offers etc then I think it can be cheaper) but for me it is a much more pleasant shopping experience so it is worth the additional cost.

If they dropped their prices/standards to match asda and tesco they would put off a lot of their core audience. For me the brand match is an added little bonus and when I get a coupon I'm happy to use it on my next visit.

marmitepotato

I never get a coupon, I just get a ticket telling me how much I have saved on brand match. Sometimes I have saved over seven quid. It's a good idea and not really a scam.