Aldi UK chief executive Giles Hurley has backed government plans to crack down on misleading supermarket discounts while criticizing rival grocers' loyalty card schemes.
Hurley threw his support behind proposals announced by Prime Minister Andy Burnham to tackle what the Aldi boss described as "invented reductions" and "phoney bargains." He insisted that government enforcement against deceptive retail practices must be "rigorous and targeted."
The grocery executive also targeted smartphone applications and membership programs operated by competing retail chains. He stated that shoppers should not face higher grocery bills simply because they do not own a smartphone or choose not to sign up for store schemes.
Writing for This is Money, a sister publication of The Financial Mail on Sunday, Hurley endorsed the administration's efforts to combat pricing practices described as part of "rip-off Britain."
Burnham stated last week that the Government would formulate proposals to ban misleading prices that make retail discounts appear greater than they actually are. The planned measures will target fake original prices that feature invented discounts, as well as misleading recommended retail prices used to attract shoppers.
In his piece, Hurley argued that supermarkets have a duty to keep food affordable by adopting a straightforward pricing strategy. He urged grocers to "start low, stay competitive and make the price available to everyone."
"Genuine promotions can help customers, and retailers that follow the rules should not be treated as wrongdoers," Hurley said. "But reference prices must be meaningful, savings claims must be clear and action on deceptive practices must be swift."
Aldi, which operates as Britain's fourth-largest supermarket chain, is one of the only major grocery retailers in the country that does not offer a dedicated loyalty membership program. Such schemes typically require consumers to download a smartphone app to unlock discounted rates at the checkout.
Supermarket loyalty schemes
In contrast to Aldi, major UK competitors Tesco and Sainsbury's have significantly expanded their customer membership programs in recent years. Both chains offer exclusive lower prices on hundreds of household items to customers who scan membership apps or cards.
Fellow German discounter Lidl also operates a digital loyalty program, enabling app users to collect points and claim promotional rewards on their shopping.
However, Hurley challenged the notion that membership cards guarantee savings for household shoppers, arguing that a promotion can appear genuine while the final checkout price remains high.
"A discount can be genuine, yet the final price can still be expensive. A loyalty badge is not proof that shoppers are getting the best value," Hurley said.
To support his claim, the Aldi boss pointed to research published by consumer organization Which?, an independent group that regularly audits retail pricing. The data showed that a standardized basket of everyday household staples cost £158.05 at Aldi. By comparison, the identical basket cost £187.86 at Sainsbury's and £188.45 at Tesco, even after applying all available loyalty scheme discounts.
"After every card has been scanned and every promotion applied, is a customer actually getting a low price?" Hurley asked.
He further argued that consumers should not be penalized or denied discounts for refusing to register with corporate applications or share personal information.
"Nobody should pay more for an essential simply because they do not have a smartphone, cannot join a scheme or choose not to hand over their data," Hurley said.
His comments follow growing criticism from consumer advocates regarding supermarket data gathering. Critics allege that retailers use mobile loyalty apps to harvest customer shopping data, which is then analyzed to encourage increased spending.
Some grocery chains have also faced allegations of artificially inflating the standard shelf price of goods before introducing a "loyalty price" that simply reduces the cost back down to normal market levels.
Addressing pricing concerns, competing grocers cited a 2024 investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority, the UK's non-ministerial government department responsible for enforcing market competition. The regulator found that 92 per cent of loyalty-priced products offered a genuine discount when compared with their regular shelf price.
However, Hurley dismissed the regulator's findings as incomplete, describing the study as only "part of the story" because it evaluated supermarket discounts solely against each retailer's own prices rather than comparing them across the wider grocery market.
Competition watchdog rules
The public debate marks the latest escalation in a long-running commercial battle between low-cost discounters and traditional British supermarket operators. Both Aldi and Lidl have expanded their UK footprint rapidly in recent years, winning over budget-conscious households during the ongoing cost of living crisis.
However, the rapid growth of the discount chains encountered a potential barrier this month. The UK competition watchdog indicated that it could include Aldi and Lidl in an upcoming regulatory ban designed to stop supermarket companies from blocking rivals from opening nearby stores by purchasing land in surrounding areas.
The proposed regulatory change threatens to close a property acquisition loophole that previously allowed Aldi and Lidl to expand their store networks and gain market share at pace across the country.
Competitors Tesco and Sainsbury's both declined to comment on the criticism and regulatory developments.
