Amazon price matches Tesco as supermarkets fight for customers

Amazon's online grocery shop is price matching hundreds of Tesco products as supermarkets battle for customers amid the soaring cost of living.

Amazon Fresh is starting its Tesco Clubcard Price Match on items such as fruit, vegetables, meat and fish.

The UK average annual grocery bill is predicted to rise by £380 this year, according to research firm Kantar.

Supermarkets are competing on price and boosting value ranges as families hit by cost of living rises shop around.

UK inflation - the rate at which prices rise - is at a 40-year high of 9.1% with food costs, particularly for bread, cereal and meat, climbing.

But the Bank of England has warned it might exceed 11% later this year fuel and food prices squeeze household budgets.

Russell Jones, director of Amazon Fresh, said he hoped the pricing campaign would "show how good our value is compared with competitors".

"We recognise that this is the most important thing to customers right now," he told the PA news agency.

• Asda says some shoppers asking cashiers to stop at £30

Amazon is the latest retailer to use a price match campaign in its marketing efforts to drive customer numbers.

Tesco and Sainsbury's are currently matching the prices of key items against those of German discount rival Aldi.

Meanwhile, Asda has expanded its cut price groceries with a new range, Just Essentials, covering some 300 products.

Kantar's warning of rising food bills means shoppers could be paying on average an extra £32 a month for food and other groceries.

Its latest survey showed grocery prices have risen by 8.3%, the highest rate in 13 years.

Amazon launched its Amazon Fresh grocery operation in the UK in 2016 and it has continued to expand, with the service now available in London, Leeds, Sheffield, Portsmouth, Liverpool, Glasgow, Birmingham, Manchester and Newcastle.