In an effort to survive the credit crisis, Tesco, which has re-branded itself "Britain's biggest discounter" has heavily reduced its prices on many premium items such as offering half-price smoked salmon and has slashed the price of premium lager and bottles of Rioja and Pinot grigio.

Asda has begun selling fine wines, including Chateauneuf du Pape. Sainsbury's has targeted couples no longer able to treat themselves to an evening out at Pizza Express, cutting the price of a pair of the restaurant's chilled supermarket pizzas by 36% to £5.

Not to be left out, Waitrose has cut the price of its fillet steak by a fifth to £21 per kilogram and its medium whole chickens by 33% to £2.19 per kilo. Its reductions come as figures released by John Lewis, the chain's parent company, disclosed that sales at the supermarket have practically flatlined, growing just 0.6%.

Meanwhile, the German chains Aldi and Lidl, which has relaunched its £5 frozen lobster, have both reported growth soaring to about 14%. Aldi has said that 50% of its customers are now from the ABC1 upper to lower middle classes - an increase of 17% in a year.

Nick Gladding, supermarket industry analyst at Verdict Research, comments: "Consumers have simply shown themselves to be more willing to shop at places like Lidl and Aldi. They are rapidly reassessing how they can afford their lifestyle and are changing where they shop."

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