Waitrose and Co-Op join price war, cut prices for essential goods by 15%

Waitrose and Co-Op are cutting prices of essential goods by an average of over 15% ahead of a Christmas that will likely bring more economic travails for customers.

Starting from Wednesday, Waitrose will lower prices on more than 200 of its basic own-label products and the Co-op is investing £50m in lowering the price of more than 300 branded and own-label products.

Jo Whitfield, the chief executive of the Co-op’s food stores, said: “Value is uppermost in the minds of shoppers.”

The move comes as rivals launch a price war to try to get budget conscious consumers to their stores as the Covid-19 pandemic aggravates the economic struggles of some UK households.

Tesco reduced the prices of many of its products in June with a pledge to match Aldi on nearly 500 products. That was followed by Sainsbury’s announcement that it would cut prices for 1,000 products, Asda pledging to invest £100m on price cuts.

Already in September, Morrisons said it was cutting prices on 400 items by an average of 23%.

Grocers are also expanding their online services now that customers are wary of going out to stores due to the virus. Grocers will try to be ready to meet soaring demand for online shopping.