The decision to ditch a price promise will rightly anger shoppers, but it’s not quite the hammer-blow it would have been just a few years ago.
Tesco is scrapping its Brand Guarantee price-matching scheme as the shopping giant continues the dramatic overhaul of its business.
Under the Guarantee, which will end on 16 July, Tesco matches competitors' prices on branded goods and refund you at the till providing you have at least 10 different branded products in your basket.
The supermarket giant explained it was scrapping the scheme to simplify its pricing strategy.
It pointed out that, because it was already “investing in simpler, lower everyday prices, fewer than one in eight transactions today receives any refund at all”.
Sure, simplifying pricing is a welcome move, but it is still effectively admitting that more than one in 10 eligible shopping baskets will cost more as a result.
Get rewarded for your spend with a cashback credit card
The shift away from traditional branded shops
So it’s not great news, but it doesn’t mean we’ll all miss out.
As loveMONEY found, it can still be cheaper to get Tesco's own-brand items even with the Brand Guarantee in place, with some Everyday Value items costing a third of big-brand equivalents (just make sure you know which own brand products to buy).
What’s more, the dramatic rise of Aldi and Lidl makes like-for-like brand comparison difficult.
Throw into that the fact that Tesco plans to launch its very own discount grocery chain and you can see why Tesco has decided the Brand Guarantee was on borrowed time.
What can you do about it?
The truth is we’re more interested in cost than brand these days (bar the few ‘irreplaceables’ we all have, of course).
So quite simply, the best advice is to make sure you get the lowest possible price when you do your next shop regardless of whatever gimmick is running this week.
Regular readers will know we’re somewhat obsessed with supermarket money-saving, so why not pick from the following guides to avoid any nasty surprises at the till, starting with our weekly round-up of the best supermarket deals from Aldi to Waitrose.
Want savings at a specific supermarket?
10 tips to save a bundle at Aldi
Pro shopping tips for Asda regulars
How to save on your next Lidl shop
Morrisons shopping tricks and tips to save money
Sainsbury's savers: how to cut the cost of your next shop
Check out these expert shopping tips for Tesco regulars.
Waitrose tricks to try and keep that weekly bill to a minimum
Hate shopping in store?
10 ways to save on your next grocery shop
Cheapest supermarket delivery deals at all the major supermarkets