Morrisons follows Asda to launch Aldi and Lidl price match

Morrisons is launching a price match with both Lidl and Aldi to bring its value “into sharper focus” for customers.

The supermarket follows in the footsteps of Asda, which last month became the first retailer to price match both Aldi and Lidl. Price matching with discounters is not a new initiative for grocers, with the UK’s two leading supermarkets – Tesco and Sainsbury’s – having had a price match initiative with Aldi in place for some time.

The Morrisons’ price match initiative will feature over 200 essentials, with the supermarket checking twice a week to ensure these are as cheap as, or cheaper than, the Aldi or Lidl equivalent. It will price match the product to whichever retailer has the cheaper equivalent.

The price matched products will be indicated by in-store signage and on its website. As well as the push behind the price match initiative, Morrisons has reiterated its commitment to British farm produce, with items like British beef mince, chicken fillets, semi-skimmed milk and carrots included in the price match.

“We want to reassure our customers that we have hundreds of products that are the same price or cheaper – with the quality they’ve come to expect from us – than those available at Aldi and Lidl which is why we have launched our new price match,” says Morrisons chief customer and marketing officer Rachel Eyre.

‘We had been playing it too safe’: Morrisons CMO on its brand revamp

“We hope this new campaign will bring our quality and value into even sharper focus for our customers,” she adds.

The discounters, Aldi and Lidl, have made rapid market share gains in recent years, as their value proposition gathered momentum during the cost of living crisis. Indeed, Aldi displaced Morrisons as the fourth biggest supermarket by market share in September 2022, according to data from Kantar.

In the 12 weeks to 21 January 2024 Morrisons had an 8.8% share of consumer spend, down from 9.1% in the same period one year prior. Meanwhile, Aldi had a 9.3% share, up slightly from 9.2% in the previous year. Lidl also saw year-over-year market share gains, with its share of spend rising from 7.1% last year to 7.5% for the 12 weeks ended 21 January.

‘This is about the customer’: Asda’s chief customer officer on its price match with Aldi and Lidl

In the context of the growing discounters, Morrisons has now joined the rest of the traditional big four in launching a price match initiative.

Price matching is effectively a form of “positioning with” a rival, by asserting you can match them on price. This tactic can run the risk of giving attention to a competitor, and perhaps even bolstering their credentials as the brand to beat on price.

Speaking to Marketing Week last month, Asda’s chief customer officer David Hills said the introduction of its Aldi and Lidl price match was only with its own customer in mind.

“This isn’t about Aldi and Lidl,” Hills insisted.

“This is all about the customer and giving the customer an ease of message to reassure them that we deliver uncompromising value.”