The Cost of Living Crisis
Eloise Hill
Content writerWe're all looking for ways to save money on our weekly food shop. And new research reveals one common shopping error could see you blowing an extra £15.73 per week.
Families have been warned doing their shopping at convenience stores rather than heading to bigger supermarkets could be setting them back an extra £800 per year.
A study, carried out by Which?, revealed those who frequently bought from local stores rather than larger supermarkets could be spending an additional £15.73 per WEEK on products.
A comparison showed 75 items, which included a Hovis white bread loaf, Anchor Spreadable Butter, and own-brand milk from Tesco Express cost shoppers up to an extra £817.91 per year.
Meanwhile, 69 grocery products from Sainsbury's Local, which included Birdseye Potato Waffles, set customers back an additional £477.93 annually.
Difference in prices for shoppers
Despite the natural fluctuation of supermarket prices being taken into consideration, the study still found steep mark-ups on individual products from local Tesco and Sainsbury's stores.
At Tesco, one of their own-label sweet potatoes cost 95p on average when purchased at a bigger supermarket or online. But it set shoppers back £1.30 on average when bought from Tesco Express.
What's more, at Sainsbury's, its biggest mark-up was the Heinz Cream Of Tomato soup, costing £1.15 at a bigger store and online. This compares to £1.37 from Sainsbury's Local.
Sue Davies, head of food policy at Which? explained the company was calling on large supermarket chains to implement changes that ensured 'everyone has easy access to basic, affordable food lines at a store near them'.
What do the supermarkets say?
A spokesman for Tesco said:
'We work hard to ensure our customers get great value at Tesco, whether they shop with us online, in a large store or in an Express store.'
And a spokeswoman for Sainsbury's also said that the variations in costs were due to its Local stores typically being located in cities or town centre areas, which had higher operating costs.
Other cost of living news
In other cost of living news, ASDA is offering kids a FREE breakfast over the February half term (and you can find out more here).
And, families have been urged to check energy vouchers as £50m has been left unclaimed ...
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