London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Sep 17, 2025

Asda says some shoppers setting £30 limit at tills

Asda says some shoppers setting £30 limit at tills

Some Asda shoppers are setting £30 limits at checkouts and petrol pumps, the supermarket's chairman has said.

Customers are putting less in their baskets, switching to budget ranges and are worried about the future, said Lord Stuart Rose.

"What we're seeing is a massive change in behaviour," he told the BBC.

It comes after food and fuel costs soared in the UK. Inflation - the rate at which prices rise - reached a 40-year high of 9% in April.

Lord Rose said he saw the inflation rise coming last year like a "train coming through a tunnel with a big flashing light on the top". Now it's time to "fasten our seatbelts", he said.

"People are trading back. They are worried about spending," he said. "They've got a limit that they've set out, too. They say £30 is one limit... and if they get to more than £30 then that's it, stop. It's the same with petrol."

Lord Rose said the country was facing some very tough times and urged the government to do more to help low income households.

But the Treasury said it understood people were struggling with rising prices and it was making cost of living payments of £1,200 to those on the lowest incomes.

Lord Rose also addressed government concerns that supermarkets were not passing on March's 5p per litre cut in fuel duty, insisting Asda price changes were "done the same day".

The retail veteran has some 50 years of industry experience under his belt. He remembers the runaway inflation of the 1970s and said this bout of rising prices has come as a very nasty surprise for consumers.

"I'm of the generation that remembers what it was like last time. And once [inflation] gets hold, it's quite pernicious," he said.

"And it takes a long time to eradicate... We're in danger of being in a place that it's very difficult to extricate ourselves from.

"What's rather sad is that the country, the government, perhaps the Bank of England didn't see inflation coming quickly. They've now recognised that."

Asda has been tracking disposable income since the financial crisis in 2008 and is all too aware of the squeeze on consumers.

Its latest data shows households had, on average, £44 less a week in discretionary income in May compared with a year ago - a fall of nearly 18%. This is the amount of money left over after taxes and essential bills have been deducted and it is the third month in a row where disposable incomes have dropped to record levels.


Budget range


Asda has launched a new budget range called Just Essentials


Like other supermarkets, Asda is having to grapple with its own soaring costs and decide how much of this to absorb and how much to pass on to shoppers.

All the big grocers are in a battle to keep prices as low as possible on the most popular everyday items because they know customers will vote with their feet and shop around.

The UK's third biggest grocer has expanded its cut price groceries with a new range, Just Essentials, covering some 300 products.

It has also launched Dropped and Locked, an initiative to lower prices on 100 items and keep them at the same price for the rest of the year.

"We're doing everything we can. We've invested nearly £100m in the last month or so making sure customers get essentials at very, very attractive prices to try and help them," said Lord Rose.

But will it be enough? Asda has recently been performing less well than its rivals.

Lord Rose said he was not too worried about market share in the short and medium term.

"It goes up a bit, and down a bit, you'll see the monthly changes and that's always been the case in retail... We will do what we need to do to look after our customers," he said.

"Secondly, because we've had a change of ownership - my colleagues and I only took over the business a year ago - we're doing things which we think will affect the long term of the business which will give customers a better Asda."


'More support'


The Asda chairman and former M&S boss said he did not want to predict where food prices will get to by the end of the year but would like to see more government support for those most in need.

"I would urge them to do more for those people at the bottom end of the earnings income scale," he said. He suggested a VAT reduction or another reduction in fuel tax would be "helpful".

He acknowledged the government now has a difficult balancing act between tackling rising prices without scuppering economic growth. But he knows what he would do.

"I would say the most important priority in the short term is to kill inflation, because once inflation gets embedded, it's very, very hard to kill. If it means we have to slow the economy down for a while, and it looks as if we are heading for a recession, then so be it."

A government spokesperson said its £37bn support package meant it would deliver a tax cut in July to save the typical employee more than £330 a year.

It said people on Universal Credit would keep £1,000 more of what they earn and a 5p cut on fuel duty would save a typical family £100.


Asda chairman: Inflation is sparking a "massive change in behaviour" amongst shoppers


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
The German Owner of Politico Mathias Döpfner Eyes Further U.S. Media Expansion After Axel Springer Restructuring
Suspect Arrested: Utah Man in Custody for Charlie Kirk’s Fatal Shooting
In a politically motivated trial: Bolsonaro Sentenced to 27 Years for Plotting Coup After 2022 Defeat
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
×