According to a report in the Daily Telegraph, Tesco has contacted 80,000 people using its Tesco Clubcard database to encourage regular Tesco customers, who are known to avoid shopping at the store during Christmas, sending them a free 拢5 gift voucher and a voucher entitling them to an 拢18 discount on at least a 拢70 shop during the run-up to the festive season.
A spokesman for Tesco said that the promotion was a national one, but was only targeting a small portion of its potential customer base.
In May, the Office of Fair Trading requested that the groceries market should be investigated over aggressive competition and price promotion.
The news is the latest criticism the supermarket has received in recent months about aggressive moves to cut prices.
Earlier this month, the retailer, along with fellow high street stores Primark and Asda, came under fire from charity War On Want. The charity accused the retailers of employing workers in Bangladesh, who are regularly working 80 hours a week for just 5p an hour in what the charity described as "potential death trap factories" to produce cheap clothes for British consumers.
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