London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Jul 19, 2025

Savings and algorithms: UK supermarkets battle cost of living crisis

Savings and algorithms: UK supermarkets battle cost of living crisis

Facing the toughest economic conditions in decades, Britain's supermarkets are cutting product ranges, searching for cost savings and patrolling each other's stores to check prices and products as they try to stay one step ahead.

Like retailers across the world, UK grocers including market leader Tesco (TSCO.L) and No. 2 Sainsbury's (SBRY.L) are struggling with the soaring cost of supplies, a shortage of key products and workers, and cash-strapped consumers.

But they enter the downturn on the back of an already lengthy period of cost cutting due to fierce competition, forcing them to look for new ways to make savings while increasingly using data to predict customer reactions to change.

"I spend a lot of time in our competitors' (stores), all of the team do too, we're constantly looking at what they're doing," Sainsbury's CEO Simon Roberts told Reuters.

While passing on some price rises to customers and taking a hit to profit margins themselves, supermarkets are fighting to limit the pain for consumers on their most important lines, like fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, fish and poultry.

"They'll all be looking at their relative performance and their relative price position like never before, because that's in the end what counts, their relative position to everybody else on price," said one grocery industry veteran, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Tesco and Sainsbury's are both matching prices on key items with German-owned discounter Aldi, seen as the low-price benchmark.

Prices are rising after the war in Ukraine restricted supplies of sunflower oil and boosted wheat and animal feed prices - pushing up the cost of meat, dairy and bakery products. Soaring energy and fuel prices, as well as increased labour and transport costs, have added to the mix.

UK grocery inflation hit 8.3% in June, a 13-year high, according to market researcher Kantar, forcing shoppers to cut back and buy cheaper ranges. U.S. bank Citi said UK food price inflation could hit 20% early next year.

RANGES


One focus for supermarkets is reducing the range of products they offer, with their ability to sell multiple types of, for example, olive oil, beans or toilet roll no longer seen as a priority for customers.

While supermarkets sought simplification before, the quest for new savings means they are attacking it with renewed vigour, as focusing their buying power allows them to get better terms.

In the last year, Tesco reduced the number of lines it sold of dairy alternatives, such as oat and almond milk, by 47%, leading to a 4% improvement in availability in retained lines.

Similarly, a 19% reduction in the amount of yoghurt lines led to an 11% improvement in availability.

Privately-owned Asda said it reduced its food range by 12.5% last year, primarily by removing duplicate products. However, the introduction of more budget products meant its range has increased by 2.5% this year.

The approach fits with steps taken by French food giant Danone (DANO.PA), the world's biggest yoghurt maker, which is cutting the variety of products it sells, including the number of flavours and packaging size options.

"If you halve your range in an area then the half that you've got left instantly becomes twice as fast selling on average, assuming you haven't lost a customer on what you've discontinued," said the grocery industry veteran.

"And if you're moving from two suppliers to one supplier then your terms with that supplier can improve dramatically."

ALGORITHMS


Supermarkets can reduce ranges more effectively than in the past by using customer data and analytics to predict whether shoppers will accept an alternative brand or not.

"The role that algorithms play now in understanding the commercial model is super important," said Sainsbury's Roberts.

"We've got some more innovation but also we've trimmed certain categories as well," he said.

With Britain's supermarkets operating on margins of only around 3%, they also need to make savings across the business.

"If we're going to invest 500 million pounds on bringing prices down, or 100 million pounds this year, 200 million pounds over two years, investing in colleagues, then we have to find efficiencies," said Roberts.

Market-leader Tesco has leveraged highly publicised price matching offers and a popular "Clubcard Prices" loyalty scheme to agree good terms with suppliers, enabling it to ensure that where it has to raise prices it tries "to ensure it is a little bit less and a little bit later than the rest of the market," it says.

But tensions with some suppliers are rising. On Wednesday, U.S. food giant Kraft Heinz (KHC.O) stopped supplying some products to Tesco after the grocer resisted higher prices.

While, like Sainsbury's, Tesco has warned of a hit to profits this year, industry data shows it is consistently outperforming rivals on a sales value basis, along with discounters Aldi and Lidl.

"Our ambition is to outperform the market, we can't control the environment, which of course remains incredibly challenged and frankly looks like it's getting more challenging," CEO Ken Murphy said.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Defends Attorney General Pam Bondi Amid Epstein Memo Backlash
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
King Charles Meets David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show
If the Department is Really About Justice: Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Freed Now
NYC Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Antifada’ Remarks Spark National Debate on Political Language and Economic Policy
President Trump Visits Flood-Ravaged Texas, Praises Community Strength and First Responders
From Mystery to Meltdown, Crisis Within the Trump Administration: Epstein Files Ignite A Deepening Rift at the Highest Levels of Government Reveals Chaos, Leaks, and Growing MAGA Backlash
Trump Slams Putin Over War Death Toll, Teases Major Russia Announcement
Reparations argument crushed
Rainmaker CEO Says Cloud Seeding Paused Before Deadly Texas Floods
×