Sainsbury’s is the latest big name supermarket chain to announce that its profits have fallen below expectations.

During the fourth quarter of 2010, the company saw like-for-like sales rise by just one per cent – well below market expectations and disappointing compared to the 3.6 per cent rise in the previous quarter.

Triple threat

Trading earlier this week saw Sainsbury’s shares drop by 5.4 per cent – and this on the back of similar falls for Tesco and Morrisons of 2.4 per cent and 2.17 per cent respectively.

Good news for consumers?

There may be a silver lining for consumers as supermarkets compete for business and prices fall. There has been an explosion of activity in the online retail sector with more supermarkets now offering home deliveries and converting various departments to the internet.

Customers can use this marketplace as a tool to find the best prices – there are many comparison websites that will now compare rates on standard groceries and other home shopping goods.

In addition, shoppers should look out for discount codes to bring prices down further. 5hop5.co.uk regularly publishes discount codes from the likes of Asda, Tesco and Sainsbury’s. This includes specialist departments such as Sainsburydiets.co.uk and Tesco Diets for those focused on healthy eating; and Asda Direct and Tesco Direct for non-grocery items such as kitchenware, CDs and clothing.