How to save on your weekly shop

Food and drink prices continue to climb in the UK, even while wholesale food prices fall. The disparity has prompted calls from the Liberal Democrats for an investigation into “supermarket profiteering”, said The Times.

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the rate of food price inflation hit 19.2% in the year to March 2023 – the highest rate in more than 45 years.

Analysis by Which? also found that the price of basic groceries including butter, milk and cheese have soared by up to 30% year on year.

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Even though the cost of putting food on the table remains stubbornly high, shoppers can save some money with a few savvy strategies.

Which foods are seeing the largest price hikes?

The ONS has a shopping prices comparison tool that lets users track how the average prices of over 450 food items have changed.

The milk, cheese and eggs products category has recorded one of the highest annual inflation rates in groceries throughout the past year, said the ONS, with figures showing a 30% increase in the 12 months to March 2023, slightly down from 31% in February.

Hard cheese saw the largest increase, with an annual inflation rate of 44%. In cash terms, hard cheese, Cheddar and soft cheese all increased by over £2.50 per kilo in the last year, with 1kg of hard cheese increasing from £6.92 to £9.98 in the 12 months to March 2023.

Meanwhile, the price of a dozen eggs increased by more than 77p over the same period, to £3.19.

Over the past year, cucumbers saw the largest price increase in a standard shopping basket, at 52%, the ONS said, while the price of a litre of olive oil is up 49% at an average increase of £1.91 to £5.78. The price of cucumbers has gone up due to rising energy and packaging costs, said The Grocer, and “a prolonged drought in top producer Spain” has pushed up the price of olive oil, explained CNBC.

Supermarkets are “brilliant” at making even the most cost-conscious consumers spend their “hard-earned cash”, said MoneySavingExpert, but “with a few focused techniques you could save £1,000s a year.”

Get savvy about sales tactics

“Wise up” to supermarkets’ “psychological tricks” to make shoppers spend more, said Which? researcher Ellie Simmonds. Stores use everything from “the smell of freshly baked bread” to “the sparkle of fairy lights in winter” to get customers feeling happy, because “the more comfortable someone is, the more they’re likely to spend.”

Holding your breath and closing your eyes while you shop isn’t really an option, but you can keep your spending in check by going in with a shopping list and sticking to it. MoneySavingExpert advises pre-planning your meals for the week or month ahead, and “incorporating the ingredients you already have” where possible rather than buying more.

Don’t go shopping when you are hungry, the website added, as “you’re more likely to buy things you don’t need.”

Time it right

Doing your food shop later in the day can “boost your chances of snapping up” items that have been discounted as they near their expiration date, said MoneySavingExpert. Supermarkets typically start the discounts from mid-morning, but the “silly price reductions” begin in the early evening, when price tags may be cut by 75% or more.

Check out the dedicated “reduced” sections, suggested The Money Edit. “The key thing is to snap up the bargains and if you don’t need them that day, pop them in the freezer.”

Strike the right deals

Stocking up when products that you use regularly are on offer can save lots of cash. But “do factor in use-by dates,” said Which? expert Simmonds.

And remember, The Money Edit warned, “buy-one-get-one free” offers can be a “false economy” if you end up buying things that you don’t really need.

Switch brands

Another way to cut costs is to swap big brands for supermarket own-brands, which are “often made by the same people in the same factories”, said Simmonds.

Savings made from switching brands “can really add up”, said The Money Edit. A block of Cathedral City Cheddar cheese (350g) costs around £3, the site reported in January, but Aldi’s Mild cheddar cheese (400g) was £2.69 and “cheapest still is Sainsbury’s Mary Ann version (500g) at £2.50”.

Most supermarkets also have various “different ranges of own-label products, from basic and value brands to premium”, added Simmonds, so there are further savings to be had by “moving down a tier – and often you won’t be able to taste much difference”.

Sign up for loyalty schemes

Most supermarkets have loyalty schemes and “they’re no longer simply about collecting points,” said Simmonds. Many now also offer loyal customers access to exclusive discounts, rewards and competitions.

The Sainsbury’s Nectar card is one of the longest-running loyalty schemes. Shoppers get one Nectar point for each £1 spent at Sainsbury’s, and can also get points for purchases from partner brands such as Argos and Homebase. One Nectar point is worth 0.5p, “so you need 200 Nectar points to save £1 to spend,” said The Sun’s consumer reporter James Flanders.

Rival stores including Lidl, M&S, Waitrose, Iceland and Morrisons also have loyalty schemes offering points or other perks, but the Tesco Clubcard stands out “as far as top picks go”, according to Flanders. Tesco shoppers get a point worth 1p for each £1 they spend, and “holders also get cheaper prices on some items.”

But of course, he added, “there’s nothing to stop you joining every scheme so you know you can get the rewards wherever you shop.”

Swap fresh for frozen

Frozen vegetables, meat and fish are often cheaper than fresh, as are ready meals, so “it pays to head for the freezer version,” said The Money Edit.

According to the site, a fresh beef lasagne costs around £3 at Tesco, “whereas if you head for the freezer aisle – and go for Tesco’s budget Hearty Food range – the same size lasagne costs just 75p.”

Shop around

Changing supermarket can save money too.

A Which? analysis in January of the prices of a basket of 45 popular items at eight of the UK’s biggest supermarkets found the lowest cost was at Aldi, at £82.03 on average, followed by Lidl, at £84.07. At the other end of the spectrum was Waitrose, at £107.71.

The Trolley app can help you compare the cheapest supermarket for your food shopping based on a range of items, plus you can get alerts when prices change.

If you are buying a regular basket or trolley of goods, said MoneyWeek, “it is worth comparing costs as the savings throughout the month can be significant.”

Marc Shoffman is an award-winning freelance journalist, specialising in business, property and personal finance. He has a master’s degree in financial journalism from City University and has previously written for FTAdviser, ThisIsMoney, The Mail on Sunday and MoneyWeek. This article is based on information first published on The Week's sister site, The Money Edit.