Sainsbury's '50p challenge' poster telling staff to encourage customers to spend more placed in shop window instead of staff room

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A poster telling staff at Sainsbury’s to encourage customers to spend more during every shopping trip was put up in a shop window instead of the staff room by accident.

The poster displayed at a branch of Sainsbury’s on Romford Road in Stratford, east London, advertised the “fifty pence challenge” and read: “Let's encourage every customer to spend an additional 50p during each shopping trip between now and the year-end”.

It was spotted by TV freelancer Chris Dodd, who posted a picture of the sign on Twitter and the caption: "Not sure this is supposed to be in your window..." The person manning Sainsbury's twitter account quickly responded by asking which store the sign was in order to have it taken down.

But instead of revealing the location of the store in question, Mr Dodd was keen to learn exactly what “encouraging customers to spend an extra 50p” would entail.

The retailer has since said the sign was put up in a shop window in error and was intended solely for the eyes of employees.

A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said: “We often use posters to make store targets fun and achievable for our colleagues. They are intended for colleague areas in the store, but this one was mistakenly put on public display.”

The spokesperson declined to comment on exactly what measures the supermarket has in place to encourage customers to spend more.