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Asda forced to ration its new Just Essentials range as demand soars
The new restriction has been slammed as ‘discrimination’ against lower income families
Asda has introduced a rationing system to its new Just Essentials range in response to soaring customer demand.
Back in July, the supermarket launched its new budget range with nearly 300 new low cost products up for grabs – that’s 50% more discounted items than the Smart Price range it replaced.
Discounted products include fresh meat, fish and poultry, baked goods, frozen products and cupboard staples. The range also includes household essentials such as washing up liquid, shampoo and conditioner.
However, thanks to its overwhelming popularity, Asda has been forced to introduce a rationing system to ensure every customer has the chance to get their hands on affordable products.
Asda
Bosses have announced that customers will now be limited to three of each Just Essentials product per shop to ensure everyone gets their share.
A spokesperson for the supermarket said: “Just Essentials is proving really popular at the moment and we’re working hard to get the out-of-stock products back on the shelves as quickly as we can.
“To make sure as many customers as possible can buy these products we are temporarily limiting purchases to a maximum of three of each product.
“This will be for a short period and we will let you know as soon these limits are removed. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.”
The decision has been met with a wave of backlash by shoppers, many of whom have slammed the supermarket of ‘discriminating’ against lower income families.
One social media user wrote: “Tried to buy our weekly amount of peanut butter only to be told we could only have 3 tubs! Discrimination against low income families & large families like my own! Totally unnecessary!”
Another commented: “Thanks @asda, I can no longer do my weekly shop in one trip. I understand the reasons behind limiting the number of Just Essentials products people can purchase, but having spent years buying the same items before rebranding, this is incredibly frustrating”.
A third questioned: “How about people just stop being greedy and only buy what they need? Restrictions like this punish larger families who actually need to buy in larger quantities.”
Though this isn’t the first time Asda’s budget range has come under fire, with some shoppers criticising its yellow branding as ’embarrassing’ to poorer shoppers at the time of its launch.
One person wrote on Twitter: “I can’t explain, but Asda’s new yellow and white budget branding has really struck a nerve. I hate it so much.”
They added: “The way it screams ‘inferior product’ and that people on lower incomes don’t deserve nice design and should have a basket full of poverty markers.”
A spokesperson for Asda also defended the new branding, saying in a statement: “We don’t understand why anyone would feel embarrassed for saving money.”