Lidl GB is putting an additional £75 million behind customer savings ahead of Christmas, after investing £400m in price cuts and promotions across more than 1,200 products so far this year.
The latest investment will include £50m in Lidl Plus loyalty initiatives, such as personalised coupons and Lidl Points, alongside £25m in targeted food and “Middle of Lidl” offers.
The move comes as retailers compete for shoppers whose household budgets remain under pressure in the run-up to Christmas.
Lidl said more than five million Lidl Plus Marketplace coupons were redeemed during the summer, while Lidl Plus transactions increased 17 per cent last month.
The retailer has increased funding for personalised coupons by 60 per cent this year and has introduced Lidl Plus Points, giving customers greater flexibility over when and where they use their rewards.
Between 1 and 14 October, Lidl Plus customers can earn 10 times the usual number of Lidl Points when buying the retailer’s premium Deluxe products.
Richard Bourns, chief commercial officer at Lidl GB, said the retailer’s scale allowed it to reinvest in prices and promotions.
“With household budgets tight and many feeling the pinch in the run up to Christmas, we’ve cut prices across more than 1,200 products this year. It’s proof of our commitment to unbeatable value, ensuring customers never have to compromise on quality or freshness,” he said.
Lidl is also continuing to invest in technology aimed at making shopping faster, including its Lidl & Go mobile self-scanning service through the Lidl Plus app, AI-enabled smart scales and an expanded rollout of self-service checkouts.
Price investment drives shopper switching
The latest announcement follows Lidl GB’s FY25 results, published earlier this week, which showed the discounter attracted an additional 43 million customer visits during the year.
Lidl said its investments in price, store expansion and digital innovation helped drive an 10.8 per cent increase in turnover and a 486 million increase in product volumes.
The retailer also reported more than £650m in direct customer switching from competitors.
It is now stepping up its expansion, with more than 50 new stores planned to open during the current financial year.
The move comes as rival discounter Aldi also steps up its affordability push. On 28 September, Aldi announced a record £900m investment in new stores and distribution centres, alongside £340m of price cuts across more than 1,000 products this year.
Aldi said the package formed part of a wider push to tackle food affordability, with further price reductions planned ahead of Christmas and more long-term agreements with British suppliers to support home-grown production.
Taken together, the moves show the scale of the pricing and investment battle being waged by the two major discounters as they compete for shoppers ahead of Christmas. For independent convenience retailers, that creates further pressure on price perception, particularly on high-volume everyday staples, while the discounters' investment in loyalty, store expansion and technology gives them additional ways of attracting and retaining shoppers.