Tesco's latest initiative suggests it is trying to save us all from the credit crunch by introducing new ranges of low-priced everyday products and discounting across a huge range of goods, from food and groceries to laptops and clothing.
The retailer says the activity is in response to research it has carried out showing that consumers are more concerned about food prices today than they have been for the past 20 years.
Along with the discounts on well-known brands, Tesco is introducing hundreds of products under the under the Discount Brands at Tesco label. These will cost more than the Value range but are cheaper than branded products, and include Packers Best teabags and Trattoria Verdi pasta.
Richard Brasher, commercial director at Tesco, said at the time of the launch: 'As customers tighten their belts in hard times, they tend to shop around for the best prices. Our research shows just how keenly they are feeling the need to watch their budgets.'
He added that the initiative was Tesco's biggest package of money-saving measures since it introduced the Value range 15 years ago.
While Tesco's stated aim is to reassure customers, the initiative is also a bid to reassure investors that it can stem a decline in market share, as shoppers start to widen their budget-shopping horizons and try out retailers such as Lidl and Aldi.
The urge to fight back with its own discounting campaign is understandable, but is it a wise strategy in the longer term?
Given the company's track record of growth, it could be argued that Tesco does not make mistakes. However, going back as far as 1990, when the late Dudley Moore started chasing chickens around French farmyards in its ads, Tesco has spent a great deal of money and effort in making itself an acceptable place to be seen for even the snobbiest shopper.
When Moore finally caught his chicken, after 14 outings for Tesco, Prunella Scales took over as Dotty, in a long-running series of ads showing consumers that the supermarket didn't just offer good value for money, but was also a nice place to shop.
More recent advertising, covering the period when Tesco shifted its account out of Lowe London and into The Red Brick Road, has tried to appeal to consumers with diverging interests - those who want, for example, organic produce with every last detail of its provenance on the label, and those who are counting every last penny and always on the lookout for a bargain.
Andrew Challier, managing partner at Billetts Marketing Services after a long career with Marks & Spencer, thinks that perception of Tesco has really moved on and that only people with very long memories would still think of it is a budget retailer.
'I think [this activity] is very much in line with its ethos. The challenge is to do it in a way that fits in with the "Every little helps" strategy and not the "pile it high" mentality,' he says. 'Tesco is positioning itself as the consumers' champion just as price becomes truly an issue for the first time in a long time. It's about Tesco responding to something affecting many customers, and to some scary statistics about rising food prices.'
Mark Rae, business development director at branding agency Brandhouse, thinks that Tesco needs to tread carefully and make sure it maintains the quality message it has been so conscious about raising.
'Tesco has been extremely brave and successful in establishing a brand that stands for value and quality, and is now making a point of listening to its customers' fears,' he says. 'However, it has to do a bit of a balancing act. Using words like "discount" can imply that it's a bit end of the line. "Low price" might be a better way of putting it.'
However, Rae also points out that Tesco will have to face up to a market in which consumers are likely to shop around more and not rely on one retailer.
Regardless of the effects of its strategy in the long-term, in the short term, at least, consumers look to be the winners.
.jpg)
.jpg)