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Sainsburys now more expensive than Waitrose for ‘the big shop’, Which? claims

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3 days ago

September 17, 2024

Sainsburys now more expensive than Waitrose for ‘the big shop’, Which? claims

Sainsbury’s is now more expensive than Waitrose for a big shop, a study has claimed.

Price analysis of a trolley of 131 items at Asda, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose found Sainsbury’s was almost £4 more expensive than Waitrose in September.

It is the first time Sainsbury’s has scored as the most expensive in a mystery shopping survey carried out each month by consumer group Which?.

However, Sainbury’s has strongly refuted the findings, insisting the analysis is inaccurate and misleading.

Goods compared on price included branded items such as Heinz baked beans, PG Tips tea bags, Andrex loo roll and Cathedral City cheddar cheese, as well as own-label products including milk and pasta.

The big shop at Waitrose came in at £355.51 for September, which was £3.72 cheaper than Sainsbury’s (£359.23). Asda was found to have the cheapest trolley at £325.71, followed by Morrisons with £332.22.

It comes as Waitrose cut its prices for a third time this year last month, lowering costs on 250 popular autumn products including steak pies, porridge and maris piper potatoes.

The monthly analysis included special offers available to all shoppers but not loyalty discounts, including Sainsbury’s “Nectar Price” discounts.

It has led to Sainsbury’s strongly disputing the results.

A Sainsbury’s spokesman said: “These claims are entirely false and insulting to the millions of savvy customers who choose to shop with us every week. There is an overwhelming amount of independently verified data showing the great value customers get when shopping at Sainsbury’s.

“We are disappointed that Which? has refused to share its data with us and has instead chosen to mislead customers by choosing to exclude Nectar Prices promotions in its research.

“The vast majority of our customers are shopping with Nectar Prices and have saved £400m on their shopping in the last six months. Customers can be sure they are getting great value every time they shop with us.”

In separate mystery shopping surveys conducted by the Grocer magazine, Sainsbury’s has ranked as the cheapest supermarket due to its Nectar Price discounts.

Ele Clark, of Which?, said: “As millions struggle with increased food prices and other high household bills, it is no surprise that many are turning to discounters for their food shop. Our latest research shows that once again Aldi is the cheapest supermarket for a basket of groceries but for the first time, Sainsbury’s has come out as the most expensive for a big shop.”

Meanwhile, Waitrose has reintroduced daily free coffees for myWaitrose members and began selling lunchtime meal deals for the first time in September in a bid to help customers save.

A Waitrose spokesman said: “As part of our £100m investment we’ve already lowered hundreds of prices this year, and it’s great to see this paying off.

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