A sharp rise in the number of supermarket shoppers looking for yellow sticker deals has prompted one retailer to introduce an entire new section to its aisles for marked-down food.

Tesco says growing pressure on household budgets means increasing numbers of its customers are now on the lookout for items which are close to their expiry date and so have been reduced in price.

These items - traditionally marked with a yellow label or sticker - are often dotted throughout supermarket aisles or kept in a small 'reduced to clear' section.

But with more than a third of its shoppers, says Tesco, now regularly seeking out these products it has taken the decision to rebrand its 'reduced to clear' sections and move all items traditionally marked with the yellow labels into a new-look area of the aisles that will instead be called 'Reduced in price. Just as nice'.

The facelift for reduced to clear areas and products will happen in 100 stores before Christmas with more Tesco supermarkets following suit in early 2023. The move, says the retailer, will also help continue its drive to cut down on food and product waste.

Reduced to clear sections regularly hold a wide range of products from fresh produce such as salads, meat, bread and sweet treats, which are close to their expiry date, sometimes alongside end of season or discontinued lines of non-food items.

Meat products, say Tesco, are most popular among shoppers searching in reduced sections followed by ready meals, vegetables and then desserts.

Tesco Chief Customer Officer Alessandra Bellini said: "We want customers to spend less at Tesco, and our ‘Reduced in Price’ sections in stores now offer the reassurance that these products are just as nice and are another reminder there's great value to be found on every aisle at Tesco.

"We’re also helping millions of customers spend less through their Tesco Clubcard, with Clubcard Prices giving up to 50 per cent off thousands of products and helping customers collect points for money off their shopping."

Research released last month confirmed that shoppers were now needing to find an extra £50 a month to meet the cost of their shopping bills with milk, oil, margarine and pet food among the items pushing up prices.

The average annual shopping bill, said analysts studying online supermarket shopping data, had rises by more than £640 annually since the start of the year.