Bit of a silly question about shopping

Try some of the discount supermarkets if there are any near you: Lidl, Aldi and Netto are all cheaper than the main chains and have some good bargains (wouldn't recommend Netto's fruit & veg though, which is pretty grim...).  My favourite of the 3 is Lidl which has excellent quality groceries, just they are mostly German and other continental brands you might not have heard of.

I agree Sainsbury & Tesco are about the same price wise.  You can shop cheaply at both of those, especially if you buy some of the Value/Basics range and check out the special offers. Waitrose is more expensive, probably not within student budget for general grocery shopping. Asda is about the same as sainsbury & tesco, maybe slightly cheaper. Marks & Spencer I would not even call a supermarket, it's a food hall in a department store, and not really somewhere most people would do their weekly shopping (except maybe Dale Winton, I saw him buying groceries at the Marble Arch branch once!!).

The smaller the Tesco or Sainsbury's, the higher the prices.  At least that is what I have found.  I didn't think Somerfield was that much cheaper (but it was a smallish one) except on meat.  The meat was decent quality though (almost as good as our butcher).

This is so great. Thank you all so much. And at places like Tesco or ASDA...are they like comparable to wal-mart where they have everything? or are they just a grocery? ...What is the "wal-mart" of england?

There is a website that compares prices at all the major supermarkets.  I know someone posted it here ages ago.  I switched computers so I don't have it anymore.

ASDA is the Wal-mart I believe.

BTW, I didn't think your question was silly at all!!!!

There is a website that compares prices at all the major supermarkets.  I know someone posted it here ages ago.  I switched computers so I don't have it anymore.

ASDA is the Wal-mart I believe.

BTW, I didn't think your question was silly at all!!!!

http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/Home.aspx
 

Prices depend on what item you are buying. The the former marketing director at Tesco worked for my company after he left Tesco, and he said the way Tesco were able to offer low prices on staples was by overcharging for things like wine, because people will look for the cheapest bread or the cheapest milk, but they won't compare prices for wine.

Prices depend on what item you are buying. The the former marketing director at Tesco worked for my company after he left Tesco, and he said the way Tesco were able to offer low prices on staples was by overcharging for things like wine, because people will look for the cheapest bread or the cheapest milk, but they won't compare prices for wine.

That's very interesting; a little funny too.   

And, glad to hear Sainsbury's isn't too far out price-wise from the others; we too found things that were comparable between Tesco and Sainsbury's.  Watching what's on sale where also helped.  Like someone else said, rarely did we find one-stop shopping; cheese, meat, snacks all came from different shops. 

(BTW, we bought English cheese at a specialty cheese shop here the other day?  Didn't even come close to Waitrose and Sainsbury's normal brands, and definitely beat it in price -- meaning outrageously priced.  So the search continues. )   

We've never even seen a Robinsons, although someone did direct us to cut through the "Robinson's parking lot" one day while giving us directions --- so I guess we were in fact right near one.    Oh well. 

You're not the only one!
20+ years in the UK, but I've never heard of a Robinson's supermarket!

I've always been under the impression that Sainsbury's was the next expensive supermarket after Waitrose (across the UK), so I generally think of them as -

More expensive: Marks and Spencer food, Waitrose, Sainsbury's,
Average: Tesco, Morrison's, ASDA (possibly counted as value too depending on product)
Cheap/Value: Somerfield, ALDI, LIDL etc.

See, my mental ranking is

Expensive: M&S, Waitrose
Average: Tesco, Sainsbury's, ASDA, Morrison's, Somerfield, Co-operative (we have a huge Co-op near us which is pretty much a full size supermarket)
Cheap cheap cheap: Netto, Lidl, Aldi, Iceland (if that can even be called a "supermarket", haha)

Iceland.  Now that *is* chav central!  Really good if you are a vegetraian having a party and can't bring yourself to cook meat though.....cheap as chips meaty party platters 


Vicky

Iceland.  Now that *is* chav central!  Really good if you are a vegetraian having a party and can't bring yourself to cook meat though.....cheap as chips meaty party platters 


Vicky

lmao!!! you could have based that comment on the iceland in our village. i don't own a tracksuit, so i've never been in. 

See, my mental ranking is

Expensive: M&S, Waitrose
Average: Tesco, Sainsbury's, ASDA, Morrison's, Somerfield, Co-operative (we have a huge Co-op near us which is pretty much a full size supermarket)
Cheap cheap cheap: Netto, Lidl, Aldi, Iceland (if that can even be called a "supermarket", haha)

That's pretty much how I see it, too.

If the OP wants to get an idea of what the different chains of supermarket sell, they all have websites.

http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/Home.aspx
 

That's it!   

We love morrisons here, Its not 5 minutes from our house and they have great prices and quality. Seriously for the same amount of food at other supermarkets we easily save £30+. All these years we paid all that money, I cant believe it!

I really think the quality at Sainsburys is better than Tesco, Asda, or Morrisons. And with our shopping list, buying more or less the same thing at each store, Asda comes out by far the cheapest - though I wish I didn't have to shop there.