Sainsbury's ending Brand Match - will anyone notice?

antrobus

A._Badger wrote: »

So Sainsbury's is cheaper than Waitrose? Possibly it is, but when you compare it with Tesco, Asda or Morrisons (and let's not mention Aldi or Lidl!) it is expensive, for all its tiresome instore announcements.....

The latest Grocer33 has a shopping basket that cost £85.26 at Sainsbury's and £85.87 at Waitrose. So Sainsbury's was cheaper than Waitrose, but not by much, and is shockingly more expensive than everybody else.

http://www.thegrocer.co.uk/home/the-grocer-33/

A._Badger wrote: »

...I walk around Sainsbury's amazed at what they have achieved. Here is a shop that has somehow managed to pull off a considerable feat of marketing. It sells much the same quality products as Tesco but at noticeably higher prices. Yet somehow it manages to make its customers feel they are getting a more up-market experience.

In some ways, I can appreciate that, because the general 'feel' of a Sainsbury's store really is better than the garish, brash, down market clean-yet-somehow-feels-grubby Tesco.

But money saving? 'Live well for less' Not on your life!

I am with you there Mr Badger. I was in Sainsbury's yesterday. I had a £4 of £20 coupon to spend. Quite difficult to find anything worth actually buying. I managed it, but it was a struggle.:)

Sainsbury's charge Waitrose prices for Tesco quality. And at least in Waitrose you get free coffee and a newspaper.

antrobus

robin58 wrote: »

..The only truth supermarkets give you is the price is going up or the product size is shrinking but the price is not.

Most supermarkets would be c oc k-a-hoop if they could increase prices. Sadly (for them, but not for us) food prices are falling.

LplateSaver

Kim_13 wrote: »

I suspect this is instead of them putting up their prices quite as much as they were going to to pay for the Living Wage.

They already pay all staff over the living wage.


Brand Match wasn't a great promotion, or it was just run past its time. Customers didn't like when they got a green one and staff were embarrassed saying you've saved £0.01.

I agree it does get rid of the transparency though. I think I should have been less negative about it when they sent me the survey a few weeks ago :rotfl:

System

LplateSaver wrote: »

They already pay all staff over the living wage.


Brand Match wasn't a great promotion, or it was just run past its time. Customers didn't like when they got a green one and staff were embarrassed saying you've saved £0.01.

I agree it does get rid of the transparency though. I think I should have been less negative about it when they sent me the survey a few weeks ago :rotfl:

My friends that work for them had customers handing over the green 'your branded items were cheaper' slips thinking they are the money off ones. They and their colleagues explained that it's the orange ones are money off. Some have were abusive.

One time, a few days before Christmas, a customer handed a green £16.something one. The maximum orange one is £10. Customer shouted at both my friend and supervisor a torrid of swear words and abandoned his shopping. Not brilliant as each till had four customers queuing.

On another note, the only customers that will miss BM are those customers that live in towns with no Asda or due to them not having a car, they can only use Sainsburys.

Kim_13

I did think that the old style brand match coupons were a bit clearer, but in any case common sense should dictate that if it hasn't got a barcode (which the green ones do not) then it isn't money off.

I certainly will not miss the name Brand Match, as I feel it misleading since it started only matching Asda. Of any price guarantee, it's the worst one (Asda beat competitors by 10% and match comparable own brand goods; Tesco's new one while worse than the original, matches more than one competitor and avoids handing out paper.)

System

Kim_13 wrote: »

(Asda beat competitors by 10% and match comparable own brand goods; Tesco's new one while worse than the original, matches more than one competitor and avoids handing out paper.)

Erm Asda's Price Guarantee requires access to the internet and a printer. I wonder how many receipts aren't checked, as customers don't have both or can't be bothered?

More often than not, I get a coupon from Asda, as though it was the cheapest, it wasn't by 10% and still got a coupon for 78p. Or I bought some veg which was made it a 1p overall more expensive than Morrisons and got a coupon for £1.09

maman

A._Badger wrote: »

I walk around Sainsbury's amazed at what they have achieved. Here is a shop that has somehow managed to pull off a considerable feat of marketing. It sells much the same quality products as Tesco but at noticeably higher prices. Yet somehow it manages to make its customers feel they are getting a more up-market experience.

In some ways, I can appreciate that, because the general 'feel' of a Sainsbury's store really is better than the garish, brash, down market clean-yet-somehow-feels-grubby Tesco.

But money saving? 'Live well for less' Not on your life!

That reminded me of the apocryphal saying that 'Sainsbury's was invented to keep the riff raff out of Waitrose'.;)


Those stores that find it hard to compete on price are selling customer service instead and, it seems, some people are prepared to pay for it.


Interestingly today I went to buy my usual small Hovis wholemeal loaf. It had gone up 4p in Aldi to 79p and Sainsbury's were selling at 80p so when the prices come tumbling down later in the month Sainsbury's will be the place to go!:D

robin58

ScarletMarble wrote: »

Have you heard of this not much publicised website coupons.Sainsburys.co.uk?

Two of my friends work for Sainsburys and this is untrue. They can't afford Waitrose prices and they are more expensive than Sainsburys. One of Sainsburys that one of them works for, is on the same road as Waitrose, about 20 shops between them. Which one is the busiest? Sainsburys.

Yes I have heard about Sainsburys coupons. I have had a few thing off of there. But they tend to give coupons of things I wouldn't buy.

It is supposed to be based on what you buy. Well I keep on getting coupons for fish products which I really don't like.

As for the prices between Sainsburys and Waitrose. Why is it when I check Mysupermarket, the prices for certain products in Sainsbury;s are always 5p dearer than Waitrose?

Also comparing two supermarkets in one place is not really a full study in prices etc. I bet if their was an ALDI also there they would busier than the other two.

robin58

antrobus wrote: »

Most supermarkets would be c oc k-a-hoop if they could increase prices. Sadly (for them, but not for us) food prices are falling.

They ARE increasing prices, by stealth, by shrinking the package size and charging the same price.

robin58

maman wrote: »

That reminded me of the apocryphal saying that 'Sainsbury's was invented to keep the riff raff out of Waitrose'.;)


Those stores that find it hard to compete on price are selling customer service instead and, it seems, some people are prepared to pay for it.


Interestingly today I went to buy my usual small Hovis wholemeal loaf. It had gone up 4p in Aldi to 79p and Sainsbury's were selling at 80p so when the prices come tumbling down later in the month Sainsbury's will be the place to go!:D

Well if I am getting charged the same prices in Sainsbury's and Waitrose, I would prefer to shop in Waitrose as they DO have better customer service, not the pretend stuff like Sainsbury's does.

On a side note about bread. I like Allison wholemeal bread.

The other supermarkets and Iceland, hell even Waitrose do it for £1.

Sainsbury's price £1.50! Why?