Asda promises to price match Aldi and Lidl on nearly 300 grocery items

The business said five items would go up in price while 224 would fall by an average of 17%.

Asda said that it would check the prices against Aldi and Lidl twice a week. (Justin Tallis/PA) (PA Archive)

Asda has announced it will match the prices of 287 items to those sold at rivals Aldi and Lidl.

The supermarket chain said matching means five items have gone up in price, 58 are unchanged, and 224 have decreased by an average of 17%.

The list includes breakfast cereals, fresh meat and fruit. For example, an 80-pack of Asda Golden tea bags, which used to cost £2, will now be £1.39.

Asda said it will check the prices of comparable products sold in Aldi and Lidl twice a week, and match its price to the cheapest of the two.

We understand we have an important role to play in local communities to help families get the most from their budgets

David Hills

The price match will be done on a proportional basis if there are no equally sized packets in the rival stores.

The plan excludes multi-buy offers and prices which are only available for members, the supermarket said.

“Asda has over 50 years heritage as the customer champion, and we understand we have an important role to play in local communities to help families get the most from their budgets,” said chief customer officer David Hills.

“We have launched Aldi and Lidl Price Match to help them save both time and money.”

It comes as grocery prices fall after years of rises.

As prices across the whole economy increased, food was one of the highest risers, so while companies are reducing prices, this is often only from a higher baseline over the last two years.

The traditional supermarkets have in recent years felt the heat from German discounters Aldi and Lidl which tend to offer products at lower prices.

The rise of the two chains has taken significant numbers of customers away from the largest supermarkets.

Asda still has the third largest share of the grocery market, at 13.6%, according to the most recent 12-week data from Kantar. Aldi had 9.3% and Lidl had 7.7%.

Ten years ago Asda had a 16.9% share of the market while Aldi had 4% and Lidl had 3.1%, the data shows.