Co-op and Waitrose have announced price cuts in the months leading to Christmas as the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic continues to bite. At the beginning of the pandemic many supermarkets scrapped special offers and prices correspondingly rose. Waitrose has now announced that it will be cutting prices on 200 of its most popular own-label products. Co-op has also set aside £50 million to lower prices on 300 branded and own-label products. The retailer has also announced it will be launching a new value range.

James Bailey, executive director at Waitrose, said that the retailer understands that “times are tough for many, so we’re reducing prices to provide our customers with great value”. He added that despite the low prices Waitrose was maintaining high quality sourcing. Jo Whitfield, Co-op Food chief executive said that the Co-op was offering “good honest prices and fairly sourced products” to consumers to help them “balance their budgets”.