Households budgets remain squeezed and shoppers are increasingly seeking out value, according to the UK’s biggest supermarket. Mr Murphy said shoppers were responding well to its efforts to lower prices on hundreds of products, which was boosting the volume of items put in people’s baskets. Across the UK, Tesco has cut the prices of some 6,500 products compared with last year, with an average reduction of around 9%. Sales of Tesco Finest, its premium own-brand line, jumped by 16% year-on-year – with some 300 new and improved products. Mr Murphy said Tesco was “betting on a good Christmas”, with consumers likely to approach the festive season in an “affordable and manageable” way.