Ocado has reduced prices on more than 100 products as the online grocer attempts to win over shoppers affected by the UK’s cost-of-living crisis.
The joint venture between Ocado Group Plc and Marks & Spencer Group Plc is lowering prices by an average of 10%, while some items have fallen by 25%. The cuts range from branded goods such as Lurpak garlic butter to Ocado’s seeded rolls and parmesan and M&S’s salmon fillets and avocados.
Ocado is trying to highlight its value to customers as rampant inflation drives shoppers to watch their spending on food. It’s also seeking to convince consumers to keep buying online after a boom during the pandemic when people were stuck at home.
The price cuts follow a series of similar measures by other grocers as politicians and central bankers scrutinize food inflation. Representatives of Tesco Plc, J Sainsbury Plc, Asda and Morrisons insisted that they aren’t profiteering from higher food prices during questions from politicians this week.
Food inflation fell for the second month in a row in June to 14.6%, the British Retail Consortium said earlier this week.
Read More: British Supermarkets Deny Food Price Profiteering to MPs
Among the reductions, Ocado cut the price of two pints of milk to £1.20 ($1.52), 5 pence below competitors.
Ocado has seen customers buy fewer items as they grow more aware of value. The retailer is trying to return to sales growth and profitability in the second half of the year.
Sales at Aldi grew nearly 10 times faster than Ocado in the 12 weeks to June 11, according to market research group Kantar.
Earlier this year Ocado unveiled a price match with Tesco in which customers can receive money off their next shop if the previous one would have been cheaper at Tesco. Tesco and Sainsbury have their own price matching plans with Aldi.
Sainsbury unveiled plans to make £15 million worth of price cuts on household staples earlier this week while Aldi lowered the price of toilet roll by 24 pence. M&S reduced prices on more than 70 items earlier in June and Morrisons announced its sixth round of price cuts this year, costing the retailer £26 million.
