As Boise-based Albertsons Companies works to navigate choppy waters in the grocery business, it has rolled out a unique holiday promotion it hopes will resonate with customers.The company’s stores across the country have rolled out a “Savings Lock” initiative, which offers sale prices on selec t items throughout stores that are guaranteed not to rise until early 2027.A BoiseDev analysis of the online Savings Lock page shows about 280 items listed on sale, with the average item showing about 20% savings. Many of the items offered are the company’s store brands, along with some national brands. The offerings include a variety of holiday baking staples like pumpkin pie mix, sugar, vegetable oil, and more.The average savings per item is about $0.97, based on prices displayed on Albertsons.com for the Boise market. Libby’s 30-ounce pumpkin pie mix, as an example, is offered at $3.99, which is $2 less than the regular price. That compares with the same item listed at $3.57 at Walmart and $5.49 at Fred Meyer.Another example is a four-pack of Campbell’s 10.75-ounce cans of tomato soup. The Albertsons Savings Lock price is $5.49, a $0.50 savings from the $5.99 regular price. At Walmart, the same item is slightly more at $5.67, but Fred Meyer beats both at $5.29 for the four-pack.Locking in savingsAlbertsons operates its stores, which include brands like Safeway, Vons, and more, on a “high-low” pricing model. That means it discounts some items with heavy sales prices to draw shoppers in, while other items cost more. (Fred Meyer also uses the high-low model.) It differs from competitors like Walmart, which use an “everyday low price model,” where all items have a low price, but those prices might be higher on certain items than Albertsons’ sale items.Typical sales at Albertsons last for short durations, while the Savings Lock runs for two months over the critical holiday period.“Customers can easily identify participating products by looking for the red Savings Lock tag in stores and online,” Albertsons Companies Senior Director of External Communications Sarah Holland said. “Participating items will not be priced higher than the displayed Savings Lock price, and additional promotions may provide even greater savings on eligible items.”Fine print on Albertsons’ website notes that Savings Lock items “are subject to additional price changes,” but Holland says the prices will only go down, not up.“An item can be ‘removed’ from Savings Lock if the local markets choose to apply a promotional price to the item, meaning the price could be lower than the Savings Lock price,” she said. “Once the promotion ends, the price returns to the Savings Lock price.”The Savings Lock promotion is noted on only some of the Albertsons Companies banners. The promotion isn’t available on several brands, including Star Market, Pavilions, and Tom Thumb.Albertsons under pressureAs BoiseDev reported, Albertsons has made a number of changes at the corporate level, and on an earnings call last month said it “needs to move faster,” and launched a new strategic review of its options for the business. The company is consolidating its regional offices, and new Executive Chair Meg Whitman said “dramatic improvement” is needed. Albertsons saw its net sales drop in the latest quarter, and said it currently has a “cost structure we can no longer afford.” Albertsons has demanded more than $9 billion from rival grocer Kroger after a merger between the two fell apart in late 2024. A trial wrapped up earlier this month, but a decision in the case could be months away. ...read more read less