A Co-op advertisement promoting its price-match scheme with Aldi has been deemed misleading by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for failing to compare genuinely similar products.
The ruling followed a complaint from Aldi, which provided the ASA with a list of 45 items from Co-op’s August advertisement that it believed were inappropriately compared.
The Co-op’s ad prominently stated “Everyday Essentials price matched to Aldi,” with smaller text adding: “We match the prices of certain Co-op products against comparable products available at Aldi.”
While the ASA acknowledged that some products were indeed exact matches in terms of variant and size – such as Co-op’s Seeded Loaf, Tiger Bloomer, White Toastie Loaf, and Wholemeal Loaf – it found significant discrepancies in other comparisons.
The watchdog highlighted instances where Co-op matched items to similar alternatives when no identical product was available at Aldi.
These included Co-op’s Linguini Pasta being compared with Aldi’s Cucina Spaghetti, Co-op’s Summer Fruits Flavoured Still Spring Water with Aldi’s Apple & Blackcurrant Flavoured Still Water, and Co-op Meaty Chunks in Jelly with Turkey against Aldi’s Earls Meaty Chunks with Chicken in Jelly.
More critically, the ASA also identified cases where a less similar alternative was used for comparison, despite a nearer match being sold by Aldi, citing Co-op’s Wholemeal Farmhouse Loaf being matched with an Aldi White Farmhouse Loaf as an example.
Co-op said that Aldi did not sell a Wholemeal Farmhouse Loaf, and they believed that the bread being a “farmhouse” style was a more significant feature than the loaf being wholemeal.
The ASA said: “We considered that consumers would understand the prices to be matched against the same products sold by both stores, or, for those who had read the small text at the bottom of the ad, that on the occasion the same product was not sold, the nearest comparable individual product would be selected for comparison.
“However, because Aldi’s nearest comparable individual product had not always been selected by Co-op for inclusion in the price match, and because no sufficiently prominent information was provided or adequately signposted to explain how products were deemed ‘comparable’, and to verify the claim, we concluded that the basis of the comparison had not been made clear and that the ad was therefore misleading.”
A Co-op spokesman said: “We ensure the product comparisons utilised in our Aldi price-match offer are presented clearly on our website to enable shoppers to easily verify the matches.”
Which? retail editor Reena Sewraz said: “Aldi almost always comes out as the cheapest supermarket in our monthly pricing analysis, so price-match schemes can sound like a win for shoppers, especially for those who don’t have an Aldi nearby or prefer to shop elsewhere.
“But this ASA ruling underlines why price-match claims should be treated with caution. Previous Which? research found that some price-matched products weren’t like-for-like on ingredients, quality or pack size.
“Shoppers shouldn’t assume a price match guarantees the same product or the best value – it pays to look beyond the label and check what you’re really getting.”
