Weekly big shop? Post Reply

[queenofhearts]

Just looked at the cost of my Waitrose shop and it has doubled to an extortionate amount. Also noticed that Friday delivery slots that once were like gold dust are now readily available which has me thinking are others doing their weekly shops differently. 
Would love to know if you do all your shopping in one shop or the household branded stuff - dishwasher tablets, soap powder etc. in cheaper places like Asda or Costco and if you do is the hassle worth it? 

[CraftandArt]

We made the switch to Asda during Covid because of slot availability and haven’t looked back! I cannot stress more strongly that the branded products are identical (Lavazza coffee beans, BrewDog, Itsu, Gressingham duck, Gym Kitchen, Napolina, Andrex, Italian pasta brands, breakfast cereals, etc.) but available at a lower cost, which means we feel able to support the butcher/fishmonger/greengrocer on Northcote Road at weekends. The Asda fruit and veg has improved loads but is occasionally hit and miss, so I sometimes do a top-up shop. Just try it once!

[Janet14]

I’ve always found it extraordinary that people do their weekly shop in Waitrose unless money is no object. We have a comfortable income but we definitely still have to watch the pennies and would only ever go to Waitrose for very specific items, e.g. their sliced soughdough which is the best! Otherwise we do our weekly shop in Tescos most of the time as it has everything but Sainsbury’s if it’s convenient (they’re in different areas) but even that tends to be more than Tescos. Then we sometimes shop in Lidl but it’s not the nicest shopping experience, you need a £1 for a trolley and there’s always something they don’t have!
Groceries are a huge percentage of our monthly spend so important to cut back here if we can!

[readysteadycook]

Waitrose is astronomically expensive now, even their offers are not as good as other supermarkets offers. What makes me laugh is they turn half the lights out in the mornings to save some electricity - it’s an awful environment to shop in.

The only thing I buy now is from the fish and meat counters - but still prefer the local butchers like Chadwick’s (who are also very expensive now).

Sainsburys Online for the bulk of our shopping and a Lidl/Aldi shop at times - they are definitely the best value places but you can’t/don’t want to buy everything there (eg meat isn’t great).

[MonkeyTeddy]

Don't forget the positive Waitrose effect on property prices... so best not to criticise it so much that it ends up closing down!

[Needcoffeenow]

I’m curious: if you are watching the pennies why would you buy branded soap powder as opposed to a supermarket’s own-brand equivalent? It’s not as if it’s on show to anyone else.

[dudette]

I do my weekly shop in Waitrose and you’re right - it’s sooo expensive but they do have a lot of offers so for example I only ever buy things like dishwasher tablets or washing liquid when they’re on special offer and then I buy in bulk. I shop there because their fruit and veg is better. In fact most of their food is better than other supermarkets although you’re quite right that buying the stuff you can get anywhere is pointless.