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Asda has announced the return of its £1 winter warmer café deals, designed to support over-60s with an affordable hot meal and unlimited drinks "to help ease financial pressures during the colder months", the supermarket confirmed. The initiative launches on Saturday 1 November and will continue through to the end of February, available across all 212 Asda cafés nationwide. Customers can enjoy either tomato or chicken soup, accompanied by bread and unlimited tea or coffee for just £1. Last year saw Asda serve more than half a million of these meals, underscoring how vital the programme has become for elderly shoppers facing mounting cost-of-living challenges. Beyond offering budget-friendly food, the supermarket is encouraging social connections amongst pensioners, reports the Mirror . Asda's community champions are reaching out to local over-60s groups and individuals, inviting them to pop into their nearest store café and use the winter warmer deal as an opportunity to socialise and meet others. Asda's 2024 Christmas community tracker revealed that one in 10 over-60s were uncertain whether they would speak to anyone between 15 December and 1 January, with the same proportion popping into supermarkets purely for human contact. Jordan Cummings, buying manager for cafés and concessions at Asda, said: "We know winter is set to be incredibly hard for thousands of pensioners as they continue to worry about how to keep themselves warm in the face of rising living costs and on a fixed income. "Last year alone we sold over half a million meals showing the vital need for this initiative. " By reintroducing Winter Warmers this November, we aim to provide impactful support throughout the winter months for those most in need, whilst also offering a relaxed social environment for people to engage with others." Meanwhile, Asda has announced that it will be introducing digital price tags to the shelves of 250 of its Express convenience stores, allowing prices to be changed electronically. This move follows other retailers such as Lidl and Currys who have already implemented electronic shelf-edge labels (ESLs) in their shops. Asda plans to add around 2,800 separate labels, eliminating the need for staff to manually change pricing in stores. The technology, provided by retail technology firm VusionGroup, will also display allergen information through QR codes, as well as showing the cost, weight and unit price of products. The supermarket chain believes this change will free up time for its store workers to assist customers, manage deliveries and restock shelves. It's understood that Asda has no plans to reduce staffing as a result of this rollout, nor introduce "dynamic pricing", which allows businesses to adjust prices in real-time based on demand. Joseph Sutton, Asda Express's vice president, said: "We're continuing to invest in enhancing our stores, and the launch of cutting-edge technology across our Express estate is proof of this. "By streamlining our instore operations, we can free up our colleagues to focus on what they do best – serving our customers." Asda plans to open up to 20 new convenience stores before the year ends. The supermarket chain has been driving forward with a significant transformation plan, which has involved slashing prices on numerous products in an effort to draw in more budget-conscious customers. Electronic price label technology has been rolled out by retailers including Lidl, Co-op and Currys throughout UK shops. Co-op has additionally utilised the technology to guide customers to its membership website when they scan the label using their smartphone.
