Asda Price Guarantee (Sheffield Handsworth Prices) a Publicity Stunt ?

Personal_Finance / Money Saving May 26, 2010 - 10:07 AM GMT

Best Financial Markets Analysis Article With much fanfare and publicity, the Asda supermarket chain recently announced its online Price Guarantee Check service in an attempt at halting the drain of customers to its main rivals, the tool enables customers to enter every receipt online to be checked against prices derived from on Independant online price checking site, where customers receive a voucher for the difference if an alternative supermarket is cheaper. Sounds good until one starts applying it in practice and could find that virtually every receipt virtually always ends up being cheaper at Asda than at its rivals (as per my experience of 8 receipts).

How can that be that every shopping trolley ends up being cheaper at Asda than at its rivals?

A recent shopping trip that totaled £139.45 before multi-buy savings and £132.78 after the savings was fed through the Asda price guarantee checker against Tesco which resulted in Tesco being £4.34 more expensive and Morrisons £8.42.

Which sounds great, until one actually takes a close look at the calculator results as the below illustrates that the calculator can IGNORE more than 50% of the shopping basket !

57 items on your bill qualify for comparison		Tesco
		+£4.34

0.22 x ASDA Ginger by Weight (100g)	46p	49p
1 x ASDA Aubergine Loose	27p	79p
0.37 x ASDA Carrots by Weight (100g)	24p	24p
2.34 x ASDA Red Delicious Apples by Weight (100g)	£4.60	N/A
6 x ASDA Whole Fresh Milk 4 Pints (2.27L)	£9.00	£9.00
4 x ASDA British Semi Skimmed Milk 4 Pints (2.27L)	£6.00	£6.00
2 x ASDA Pure Sunflower Oil (1L)	£2.08	£2.22
1 x ASDA Good for you! Natural Cottage Cheese (300g)	78p	78p
1 x ASDA Smartprice Reduced Fat Spread 50% (500g)	44p	N/A
2 x ASDA Smartprice Mixed Weight Eggs (15)	£2.90	N/A
1 x ASDA Smartprice Peeled Plum Tomatoes in Tomato Jui...	35p	33p
1 x ASDA Smartprice Self Raising Flour (1.5Kg)	42p	43p
3 x ASDA Chopped Tomatoes in Tomato Juice Thick Cut (4...	£1.00	N/A
2 x ASDA Thick Bleach Lemon Fresh (750ml)	£1.00	£1.00
2 x ASDA Basmati White Rice (1Kg)	£3.14	£2.00
3 x ASDA Smartprice White Toilet Tissue (4)	£1.35	N/A
1 x ASDA British Iceberg Lettuce Loose	97p	97p
1 x ASDA Conference Pears (10)	£1.00	N/A
1 x ASDA Smartprice Bananas (1.5Kg)	£1.42	N/A
2 x ASDA Organic Garlic (3)	£1.40	£1.78
2 x ASDA Easy Peel Satsumas (700g)	£2.00	N/A
1 x ASDA Clear Honey (227g)	£1.00	N/A
1 x ASDA Coriander Bunch (80g)	£1.17	N/A
2 x ASDA Strawberries (400g)	£3.00	£4.58
1 x ASDA Kiwi Fruit Punnet (8)	£1.00	N/A
1 x ASDA Thin Chillies (50g)	67p	N/A
1 x ASDA Smartprice Potatoes (2.5Kg)	94p	N/A
1 x ASDA Chocolate Chip Cookies (250g)	49p	49p
1 x 7 Up Free (2L)	£1.00	£1.59
1 x Imperial Leather Original (2x200g)	£1.03	N/A
3 x Birds Eye 100% Fillet Fish Fingers with Omega 3 (2...	£4.71	N/A
1 x Robinsons Summer Fruits Squash with No Added Sugar...	£1.09	£1.09
8 x Young's Fish Fillet Dinner (380g)	£15.76	£16.00
1 x Walkers Quavers & French Fries Big Variety Pack (2...	£3.78	N/A
3 x Walkers Doritos Chilli Heatwave (6x30g)	£3.00	N/A
1 x Kingsmill Tasty Wholemeal Medium Sliced Bread (800...	£1.00	£1.00
2 x Kingsmill 50/50 Medium Sliced Bread (800g)	£2.00	£2.00
1 x Germolene Antiseptic Cream (55g)	£2.17	£1.95
1 x The Simpsons Assorted Freeezepops (20x50ml)	£1.08	£1.28
3 x JTS Jawbreaker (40g)	75p	N/A
2 x Fosters Curd Tarts (192g)	£2.68	N/A
1 x Huggies Size 4+ Super Dry Value Box (75)	£10.00	N/A
1 x Cadbury Time Out (9x16g)	£1.28	£1.28
1 x Granose Red Kidney Beans (500g)	93p	N/A
1 x ASDA Gala Apples (800g)	£1.00	N/A
1 x ASDA Coloured Mild Grated Cheddar Cheese (250g)	£1.54	N/A
4 x ASDA Smartprice Low Fat Natural Yogurt (500g)	£1.40	£1.40
2 x ASDA Smartprice Brown Onions (2Kg)	£1.48	N/A
1 x ASDA Freshly Frozen Carrot Batons Broccoli & Cauli...	£1.00	N/A
1 x ASDA Freshly Frozen Steamed Vegetables Carrots, Br...	£1.00	N/A
1 x ASDA Steak Cut Oven Chips (1.81Kg)	97p	£1.10
1 x ASDA Radish (200g)	50p	50p
2 x ASDA Strawberry Trifle (150g)	£1.50	N/A
1 x ASDA Smartprice Sultana Sponge Cake	98p	N/A
1 x ASDA Digestive Biscuits (500g)	52p	52p
1 x ASDA Rich Tea Biscuits (300g)	54p	N/A
1 x ASDA Extra Special Belgian Double Chocolate Cookie...	£1.32	N/A
1 x ASDA Extra Special Belgian Chocolate Stem Ginger C...	£1.32	N/A
1 x ASDA Smartprice Wrapping Foil (290mm x 20m)	60p	N/A
1 x ASDA Double Chocolate Mini Muffins (12)	£1.41	N/A
3 x ASDA Whole Cucumber	£2.28	£2.52
1 x Nestle Breakaway Bar (18x21.5g)	£1.50	£2.19
1 x Nestle Blue Riband (18 per pack - 350g)	£1.50	£2.19
1 x Wall's Solero Strawberry & Banana Smoothies (3x90m...	£1.50	N/A
1 x Wall's Bite Size Feast (8x60ml)	£1.50	£1.78

Comparison total (compared products only)	£65.15	£69.49

Therefore instead of comparing a shopping basket of £132.78 after multi-buy savings as the prices used are after discounting, it is in fact comparing a select item of £65.15, just 49% of the basket. Is that a fair comparison ?

One could easily conclude that the Asda Price Guarantee comparison is on the whole picking items that are cheaper at Asda then other supermarkets.

The Whole Shopping Basket Test

The real test as to whether one supermarket is cheaper than another comes down to the final bill on each regular shopping trip. In this regard two supermarkets are of similar distance to our location (Sheffield East) - Asda (Handsworth) and Morrisons (Catcliffe), though we usually choose the Asda store because it is a far larger with more variety and more convenient opening hours (24hour - though the Sheffield Handsworth store only usually has 1 checkout open after about 10pm which means customers may have to queue for as long as five times as long as during normal opening hours), however when it comes down to average weekly shopping bills, Asda comes in at an average of £139 and Morrisons at £121. Therefore on average, regardless of what Asda's highly selective price comparison states (+£8.42), Morrisons in our experience tends to be 13% CHEAPER than Asda on each weekly shopping runs. Therefore it is highly probable that Tesco will also be cheaper than Asda on the basis of complete shopping trips.

Off course there could be regional variations in pricing, it may be that the Asda Sheffield Handsworth Road store has higher prices than other Asda stores, though I doubt it, therefore I conclude that the Asda Price Guarantee on balance where the vast majority of customers are concerned amounts to nothing more than a publicity stunt.

Your money saving analyst who is going to take his £140 weekly shop to Morrisons from now on and save £936 per year!

Source: http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article19806.html

By Nadeem Walayat

http://www.marketoracle.co.uk

Nadeem Walayat has over 20 years experience of trading derivatives, portfolio management and analysing the financial markets, including one of few who both anticipated and Beat the 1987 Crash. Nadeem's forward looking analysis specialises on UK inflation, economy, interest rates and the housing market and he is the author of the NEW Inflation Mega-Trend ebook that can be downloaded for Free. Nadeem is the Editor of The Market Oracle, a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication. We present in-depth analysis from over 500 experienced analysts on a range of views of the probable direction of the financial markets. Thus enabling our readers to arrive at an informed opinion on future market direction. http://www.marketoracle.co.uk

Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any trading losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors before engaging in any trading activities.

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Comments

Craig 26 May 10, 14:41	Asda checkout staff check your reciepts, i get overcharged on dobule counted items once every 5 visits Craig
Nadeem_Walayat 26 May 10, 14:46	asda elderly staff Ive noticed that too, though I don't check every reciept, don't have the time. I guess elderly, retired staff are more prone to fatigue and making mistakes at the checkouts ? Must be good for wallmart profits though,
pat williams 27 May 10, 03:06	asda reciepts I make a habit of checking my shopping receipts, it amazes me how many mistakes have been made over the years. At least Asda give £2 on gift card + refund, if there is a mistake.
Clive 27 May 10, 03:56	Asda 1 x ASDA Extra Special Belgian Double Chocolate Cookie... 1 x ASDA Extra Special Belgian Chocolate Stem Ginger C... Ah, what endulgence. I find sometime you can get great offers at Asda for example the aubergine in your list however generally we prefer Morrisons. Am I potentialy looking at a short time-frame inverse H&S on the S&P500 which if breaks above say 1090 could potentialy take it to 1120/1130?
Nadeem_Walayat 27 May 10, 04:10	S&P ? - Dow Yes. S&P ? All I know the target low for the dow is 9,800 to 9,850, given that it closed at 9991, there ain't much downside, especially as it has already hit the target, all those betting on 15% - 20% drops are going to get burnt as it should bounce higher, how high ? last analysis suggests 10,350 overshoot to 10,400. offcourse that is just my opinion, though I do usually put my money where my mouth is.
Nasir 28 May 10, 04:55	FTSE DOW S&P head and shoulders? Dear Nadeem, a lot of chartists are pointing to a head and shoulders formation type pattern on the main indices, in fact on your recent analysis for dow going into July if you take a step back you see the pattern if dow doesn't breach 10700 or so on the upside. Personally i believe the bull market is in infant stages, have you noticed this potential head and shoulders formation? on the positive side the advance/decline line has not shown divergence on the key indices so thats a good positive for now? what do you think?
Nadeem_Walayat 28 May 10, 07:36	H&S Price Pattern Hi H&S pattern is just one, if one just looks at 1,2 or 3 items then one would be better served by flipping a coin. When I perform analysis, accumulatively I am looking at about 40 pieces that include seperate intermarket conclusions. Its a lot of ongoing work, but necessary to arrive at firm conclusions. So on its own the H&S does not mean much, at best 50/50. Best NW
Kieran 09 Aug 10, 15:51	This article is WRONG This article is wrong because Asda cannot compare something that is different in weight, or if another supermarket doesn't sell it. Or even if its sold loose by weight or if its from a deli/cheese counter. I can't believe you'd think they'd be "picking" things out to compare, that makes no sense. the ASA would be onto them in a flash if that was the case. Please do your homework next time, all this information is on the price comparison website itself if you don't believe me.

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