CHRIS WATT and JULIE PRICE SHOPPERS face a supermarket "price war" this weekend as the country's leading chains, struggling to compete for cash-strapped customers, announce a series of discounts for the week ahead.

CHRIS WATT and JULIE PRICE

SHOPPERS face a supermarket "price war" this weekend as the country's leading chains, struggling to compete for cash-strapped customers, announce a series of discounts for the week ahead.

However, market analysts said yesterday that the move was an attempt to disguise record rises in food bills.

Both Asda and Morrisons will be temporarily reducing prices for products including mince, burgers and sausages, to just 50p. Tesco and Sainsbury's also have widely publicised special offers, with half-price strawberries and numerous two-for-one deals.

Supermarkets have described their offers as "inflation-busting", but prices on a basket of 24 staples, including bread, fruit and milk, have gone up by more than one-fifth in the past year, according to a survey by consumer website mySupermarket.co.uk. The study found prices had risen year-on-year by 25.7% at Sainsbury's, 21.6% at Tesco and 15.2% at Asda.

Robert Gregory, an analyst at Planet Retail, said that, while special offers in supermarkets were nothing new, the increasing focus on low prices was a sign that big retailers were increasingly scared of competition from cheaper rivals such as Lidl and Aldi.

He said: "It's not a price war yet - especially for the big four retailers, they've always competed on price - but what is quite worrying for big retailers is that if Aldi and Lidl gain market share, that could alter the market in the longer term." Bargain supermarkets such as Lidl and Aldi have enjoyed surging popularity as the stigma they once carried is cast aside by bargain-seeking shoppers.

Among shoppers in Bishopriggs yesterday, special offers were popular as the rise in prices begins to squeeze. Margaret Coile, aged 40, from Giffnock, said she was feeling the effects of inflation while she was out shopping to feed her husband and two teenage daughters.

"I find it a bit more expensive, and I am seeing a difference," she said. "Even so, I try to strike a balance between getting bargains and buying quality stuff."