05/07/2022
Sainsbury's customers switching to own-brand products
Sainsbury's customers are switching to own-brand products and cutting back on non-essential spending as prices rise more quickly, the supermarket's boss has said.
Simon Roberts added that pressure on household budgets is set to increase over the rest of the year.
Households have been struggling with the cost of living as energy, food and fuel bills soar.
Mr Roberts said Sainsbury's was "doing everything we can to keep prices low".
Some customers are "switching into economy own-label" when food shopping, while Sainsbury's is seeing customers "pulling back" some spending on general merchandise, Mr Roberts said, with larger "big ticket" items "more challenged".
Sainsbury's sales fell 4% in the 16 weeks to 25 June compared with last year, but that difference was mainly down to how lockdowns in 2021 had pushed up sales, he said.
Customer behaviour is changing with pressure on household budgets set to increase, supermarket says.
