Sainsbury’s Can’t Match That!

DaveyBoy09

Listening to Sainsbury’s bleat about their woeful situation as regards NI contributions and how hard turning a profit can be, I was brought up short during my regular online shop and discovered some very interesting things about Sainsbury’s marketing (and, no doubt, all the other big supermarkets). My example to dive in to this is trimmed Brussels sprouts which Sainsbury’s spend millions telling us are “price matched with Aldi”. 

If you look on the Sainsbury’s site, you will find the following offers on trimmed, bagged Brussels sprouts:
500g @ 90p, price-matched to Aldi. Equivalent = £1.80 per kilo.
400g @ £2.00. Equivalent = £5.00 per kilo. 
200g @ £1.60. Equivalent = £8.00 per kilo. 

This throws up a number of issues:
1. ONLY the (‘family size’) is actually price-matched to Aldi. The 400g pack is 2.77 TIMES this level, and the 200g pack is 5 times this price!
2. The most likely buyers of the 200g size packs are single people, especially older ones who abhor throwing away unused food and who have recently become a political football (see winter fuel payments debacle), so Sainsbury’s KNOW they are hitting the old hardest. 

3. I can’t believe that Sainsbury’s pricing and marketing policies are any less cynical for any product, so I would encourage everyone to compare equivalent prices WITHIN a product range as well as swallowing the ‘price-matched’ scam. 

4. This basic dishonesty (or, if you prefer, just simple deception) should be called out at every turn.

Grumpy_chap

DaveyBoy09 said:

Listening to Sainsbury’s bleat about their woeful situation as regards NI contributions and how hard turning a profit can be, I was brought up short during my regular online shop and discovered some very interesting things about Sainsbury’s marketing (and, no doubt, all the other big supermarkets). My example to dive in to this is trimmed Brussels sprouts which Sainsbury’s spend millions telling us are “price matched with Aldi”. 

If you look on the Sainsbury’s site, you will find the following offers on trimmed, bagged Brussels sprouts:
500g @ 90p, price-matched to Aldi. Equivalent = £1.80 per kilo.
400g @ £2.00. Equivalent = £5.00 per kilo. 
200g @ £1.60. Equivalent = £8.00 per kilo. 

This throws up a number of issues:
1. ONLY the (‘family size’) is actually price-matched to Aldi. The 400g pack is 2.77 TIMES this level, and the 200g pack is 5 times this price!
2. The most likely buyers of the 200g size packs are single people, especially older ones who abhor throwing away unused food and who have recently become a political football (see winter fuel payments debacle), so Sainsbury’s KNOW they are hitting the old hardest. 

3. I can’t believe that Sainsbury’s pricing and marketing policies are any less cynical for any product, so I would encourage everyone to compare equivalent prices WITHIN a product range as well as swallowing the ‘price-matched’ scam. 

4. This basic dishonesty (or, if you prefer, just simple deception) should be called out at every turn.

I don't see any dishonesty or deception if the 500g that is stated as being price matched is correctly so.

Do Aldi also stock the 200g and 400g portions?  If not, this pack size cannot be price matched.

I don't see how this is hitting the oldest hardest.  Those senior citizens to whom you refer that abhor throwing away unused food are also far more adept at avoiding food waste through reuse of leftovers.  Maybe they might prepare several meals at one point in the week and then plate up servings for a later day (or freeze).  Maybe they use some in bubble-n-squeak or similar.  Maybe the senior citizens might even have friends or family and entertain the group.

Largs

Im pretty certain that 500g pack is only sold when the sprouts are in season whereas the smaller packs are sold all year round.  I have to revert to frozen sprouts outside the winter months as fresh are too expensive.