Supermarket which hiked price of essential 13% in a week cuts cost after backlash from shoppers

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

A supermarket which sparked anger by hiking the cost of an essential 13% in a week has put the price back down. We shared last week how Morrisons had climbed from being the cheapest for a basket of essentials two months ago to the second most expensive after putting up the price of its cheapest Savers tea bags.

The move, which was the only price rise to feature in last week's comparison of basic items - something we've done for more than two years now - meant the retailer was second dearest behind Tesco. Read more: We tried cheap cheddar cheese from every supermarket and all went crackers for the same one But now, after a backlash from shoppers, the supermarket has brought the price back down, to 1p more than the original cost.

Customers tell us they're confused as to why the price went from 79p for a pack of 80 tea bags, up to 89p last week, and now 80p just a week later. "It doesn't make any sense," said one shopper. "Maybe they hoped nobody would notice the price rise, but when you buy certain things every week, you know straight away when something has gone up." The decrease this week means that Morrisons is now third most expensive, with a bill of £12.29 for the basket, which includes milk, bread, tea bags, coffee, butter, baked beans, chicken breasts and mince.

Sainsbury's is second most expensive, at £12.33, with Tesco the dearest for the eighth week running, at £12.62. Lidl remains the cheapest of all the retailers, with a bill of £12.11, followed by Aldi at £12.14 and Asda, which is just pennies behind those for the sixth week running, with a bill of £12.18.