Morrisons steps up battle with rival supermarkets as it slashes prices of kitchen staples such as meat, poultry and vegetables
Britain's fourth largest supermarket provided some Autumn cheer for consumers by announcing a series of price cuts to key products in a move that could spark a price war.
Morrisons announced that prices of staples such as meat and poultry will be slashed by 20 per cent with some vegetable prices a third lower.
Industry leaders said that this could signify the other three of Britain's big four supermarkets (Tesco, Sainsbury's and Asda) to follow suit.
"I think you can expect things to get pretty aggressive," one source told the Mail on Sunday.
According to research firm Kantar Worldpanel, Tesco's shrinking market share slowed to its slowest pace since 2014, meanwhile Morrisons market share fell 0.2 per cent to 10.7 per cent.
However if soundings from Walmart-owned Asda – who recently announced a 7.5 per cent drop in quarterly sales – are to be believed, it will seek to steer clear of taking the knife to prices. Instead of drastic cuts, it is focussed on bringing down prices by an aggregate of £1.5bn over five years.
Last month Lidl was the fastest growing supermarket in the UK and together with fellow discounter, Aldi, have now captured nearly 11 per cent of the market.
"Lidl has always been committed to providing customers with the best quality at the lowest prices. This is an integral part of our core values as a business and we will continue to deliver on that for our customers," said Lidl's Georgina Hall in response to the news.
Supermarket prices had been expected to rise following the Brexit vote. A devaluation in sterling led to many warning that the increase price of importing goods would be passed onto consumers.
But this has not be borne out according to price comparison website Mysupermarket.com, which said that prices had fallen by four per cent over the last 12 months.