Sainsbury’s has doubled the amount of the cheapest own-label products in its Local convenience stores this year, in a bid to offer more affordable items for customers.

The move comes after Which? found that supermarket-branded convenience stores are not offering budget grocery lines in the most vulnerable areas, despite 66% of those on less that £21k per year shopping in a smaller store at least once a week.

Chief executive Simon Roberts told The Telegraph that grocer had been working hard over the past year to achieve this, with more Aldi Price Match items available in its c-stores and having “doubled” the amount of its Stamford Street own-label range, which launched back in May.

He said: “We’ve put more of those value items in those stores and customers prefer that because, at the end of the day, you’re going to a convenience store for a top-up.

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“Whereas in a larger store, you’re going to get more of the items you need for the next few days or the next week.”

Since these findings were published, Tesco has revamped its Express store offer, replacing 50 everyday items with own-brand alternatives that are on average more than 40% cheaper than the former products.

Morrisons has also introduced a range of entry level Savers products to over 500 Daily convenience stores which are priced the same as in its larger supermarkets.

CEO David Potts vowed to make the change following a questioning from MPs back in June, amid concerns that supermarkets had been profiteering while consumers faced rising food prices.

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