BEAT THE SUPERMARKET
Your supermarket is manipulating you into spending more money – read on to discover how to shop smart and save serious cash
Feature Natalie Osborn
The way groceries are organised in a supermarket is deliberate. Sure, it might seem like you’re on a gruelling assault course when all you want is two pints of milk – and that’s because you are. Your ‘path to purchase’ is carefully engineered to expose you to as many buying opportunities as possible. Here, you’ll find easy ways to sidestep supermarket booby traps and save yourself a packet in the process.
Loyalty lowdown
Three major supermarkets offer loyalty schemes: Tesco Clubcard, Sainsbury’s Nectar and Morrisons Match & More. They all differ slightly in how quickly you rack up points and how much those points are actually worth.
In Tesco, you’ll get one point for every £1 you spend and the points are worth 1p each, so you’ll save £1 per £100. Sainsbury’s also dishes out one point per £1, but they’re only worth 0.5p, meaning you’ll save 50p per £100 spent. Morrisons gives you five points per £1, and one is worth 0.1p, so you’ll wind up saving the same amount as in Sainsbury’s – 50p per £100.