Waitrose has revealed that its newly launched price-matching campaign helped increase sales in the week to Saturday 2 October.
The upmarket grocery retailer posted sales of £92.9 million in the first week of its campaign to match prices with Tesco on 1,000 everyday branded products.
The sales figure represents an increase of 9.4 per cent from the same week last year and a 23.5 per cent rise from the same period in 2008.
Waitrose said customers had “responded positively” to the price match initiative, which covers staples and popular household items such as Heinz Baked Beans and Persil washing powder .
However, Seymour Pierce analyst Freddie George said turnover for the week to October 2 suggested that the new campaign had not had the same impact as the introduction of the retailer’s Essentials value range 18 months ago.
Waitrose Brand Price Match marks the first time the chain has adopted price-matching tactics usually associated with its larger rivals.
Last month the supermarket posted group sales of £4.5bn in the year to January 31, an increase of 25 per cent from the corresponding figure in 2008. Operating profits for the year came in at £268m.
