A study has claimed that Sainsbury’s is now more expensive than Waitrose for a big shop. The study compared the prices of a trolley of 131 items at Asda, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, and Waitrose. It found that in September, Sainsbury’s was almost £4 more expensive than Waitrose. This is the first time Sainsbury’s has been reported as the most expensive in a mystery shopping survey conducted monthly by consumer group Which?.
Sainsbury’s, however, strongly refutes the findings, calling them inaccurate and misleading. The study compared the prices of 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 like milk and pasta.
According to the study, a big shop at Waitrose in September came to £355.51, which was £3.72 cheaper than at Sainsbury’s (£359.23). Asda was found to have the cheapest trolley at £325.71, followed by Morrisons at £332.22.
Waitrose recently lowered its prices for the third time this year, reducing costs on 250 popular autumn products. These include steak pies, porridge, and Maris Piper potatoes.
The study took into account special offers available to all shoppers but not loyalty discounts, including Sainsbury’s “Nectar Price” discounts. Sainsbury’s has strongly contested the results, stating that the research excluded its Nectar Price promotions.
A Sainsbury’s spokesperson 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.”
In other mystery shopping surveys conducted by the Grocer magazine, Sainsbury’s has consistently been ranked as the cheapest supermarket due to its Nectar Price discounts.
Meanwhile, Waitrose has reintroduced daily free coffees for myWaitrose members and has started offering lunchtime meal deals for the first time in September to help customers save.
A Waitrose spokesperson 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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