They are the discount stores that have become synonymous for their bargains amongst shoppers - but which one of them offers the cheapest bargains?
As households across the country continue to feel the crunch of the cost of living, it is understandable why so many of us are beginning to switch up our shopping habits in a bid to bring down costs. Which is exactly why shopping at the likes of Home Bargains and B&M has become increasingly popular, especially over the past couple of years.
The two budget high-street retailers have earned quite the reputation for providing shoppers with a range of household essentials at much lower prices than they would find elsewhere.
And while everyone loves a trip to either store for some handy homeware items that you never knew you needed until you got there, they have also started branching out into a lot more.
From groceries and clothing to beauty products and cleaning items, the two retailers are now offering shoppers a lot more in a bid to attract more customers with their vast array of lower prices.
But, which of them is actually offering the cheapest prices in my local Aberdeen store, and is it by much?
Well, that is exactly what I decided to try and find out for myself. Since I enjoy visiting both stores so much, especially to find the latest bargains on homeware, I wanted to find if one would offer my cheaper prices on my everyday essentials.
So, what is the answer?
What did I purchase?
Like I said above, there is nothing better than heading to either store for some cute new purchases, like homeware, kitchenware and candles.
But, I wanted to find out about the shopping essentials that pretty much every household or family would pick up more occasionally than the rest.
My list included a variety of items that I tried to find in the exact same size packaging, just to keep things as fair as I possibly could, because I realise the options may differ in both retailers.
I did try my very best to find items that were own-branded, but I did find that I occasionally had to make a few switches, particularly with B&M who were offering more branded items than Home Bargains. It should be noted here that these are the products and items available from B&M at the Kittybrewster Retail Park and Home Bargains at the Berryden Retail Park, both in Aberdeen on Wednesday, August 3. Different outlets may vary in sizing and products available.
Here were the 10 items on my list:
- Kitchen/Bathroom cleaner
- Shampoo
- Toothpaste
- Shower gel
- Baby wipes
- Cereal
- Milk
- Bread
- Toilet roll
- Laundry capsules
Kitchen/Bathroom Cleaner
Fabulosa Cleaner Spray 500ml
Home Bargains: 99p
B&M: £1
Pretty much everyone needs cleaning products at some point during the weekly shopping, and since both retailers stocked the same Fabulosa brand, I decided it was fair to look at this price.
To be fair, Home Bargains just beat B&M for the title with this one literally by just one penny, so, either way, you are getting a good deal.
Winner: Home Bargains
Shampoo
Creightons 250ml vs Enliven 350ml
Home Bargains: 99p
B&M: £1.99
Shampoo and conditioner is usually an essential for a lot of us, which is why I popped it on the list. It was also really handy that both stores had other products that weren't from major brands.
Interestingly enough, despite being the same size bottles, and even with choosing the cheapest at B&M, Home Bargains still managed to edge the retailer once again. With a full £1 saving on one bottle, it is certainly a saving that could add up over time.
Winner: Home Bargains
Toothpaste
Wisdom Sensitive Whitening vs Arm and Hammer Extra White
Home Bargains: 99p
B&M: £1
This was another product that I had to pick a substitute for in B&M, as they only offered me branded tubes of toothpaste, compared to Home Bargains.
While Home Bargains once again takes the crown, it is only by one penny once again.
Winner: Home Bargains
Shower Gel
Cussons Pure 500ml vs I Love...
Home Bargains: 99p
B&M: £1.49
This was one of the products that really differed by quite a bit. As I made the decision to try and find products that were the same size as each other, the Bubble T and I Love... options were the only ones available in my local B&M.
Compared to the 500ml Cussions in Home Bargains, B&M's offerings were significantly pricier.
Winner: Home Bargains
Baby Wipes
Pure Baby Wipes vs Huggies Natural Care
Home Bargains: 55p
B&M: 79p
Baby wipes are one of those household items that definitely always come in handy to have stores somewhere, and it looks like Home Bargains if offering the better price.
Both packets were the same size, 64 wipes, but Home Bargains Pure Baby Wipes edged out B&M's Huggies which were 20p dearer - however, this was for a branded product.
Winner: Home Bargains
Cereal
Malt O'Meal Cookies 'n Cream 311g vs Skinny Crunch Milk Chocolate Pillows 375g
Home Bargains: £2.25
B&M £2
B&M managed to nab Home Bargains reigning crown by this point as their Skinny Crunch cereal was 25p cheaper than Home Bargains Cookies 'n Cream.
Both brands are exclusive to the retailer they are being sold in, so at least it wasn't case of pitting a bigger brand against a budget value brand. Nevertheless, you can nab a big box of cereal for 25p cheaper in B&M.
Winner: B&M
Milk
Grahams 2l
Home Bargains: £1.45
B&M: £1.45
This was the first tie during the price comparison, as both retailers came in at £1.45 for a 2 litre point of the same branded Graham's milk.
Both stores did have full fat and semi-skimmed milk available, so they were was a decent amount of choice.
Winner: Tie
Bread
Roberts Premium Soft White 800g vs Warburtons Wholemeal 800g
Home Bargains: 99p
B&M: £1.20
Bread is simply a household essential and, what was interesting here, is that Home Bargains had an awful lot more choice when compared to B&M.
Not only did they have more choice, but B&M came in at over 20p dearer for the same size of bread (800g.)
Winner: Home Bargains
Toilet Roll
Comfy Soft 18 pack vs Gentle Touch 18 pack
Home Bargains: £4.79
B&M: £4.79
We all need toilet roll in the home and, luckily, both retailers are offering the same large value pack of 18 rolls for £4.79.
Winner: Tie
Laundry capsules
Ultra 2-in-1 Bio Liquid Capsules vs Surf 3-in-1 Capsules
Home Bargains: £4.99
B&M: £6.99 for 50 tabs
We all usually need to pick up laundry capsules at some stage, which is why I tried to find a decent sized pack in both stores - unfortunately, that was a lot more easier said than done.
B&M tended to have larger sizes compared to Home Bargains, so I settled for what was the cheapest, or best value out of the bunch. Home Bargains is offering shoppers the lower prices, this time by £2 but that is for an own brand product. Whereas in B&M it was a branded product in Surf and has more tabs for better value for money.
Overall verdict
Home Bargains total: £18.98
B&M total: £22.70
When it comes to household essential items, it looks like Home Bargains has just managed to take the crown with a total that is £3.72 saving for the same, or similar, items.
One thing that I found very interesting, is that B&M tends to have a lot less choice for consumers on a budget in my Aberdeen store.
While the almost £4 saving might not seem like a large amount, the fact that B&M tends to only offer branded items, or larger sizes in store, could have led to the overall higher prices. It also helps that Home Bargains offers a lot of essentials at around 99p or less, which was quite rare for B&M.
Overall, Home Bargains managed to offer cheaper prices on nearly ever single item, with the exception of cereal, where B&M stole the crown for a larger size pack, and the milk and toilet roll which was a tie for same brand/size.
On the flip side, B&M's larger quantities may come in handier for families, or anyone who maybe doesn't want to head to the shops as many times during the week.
At the end of the day, both stores continue to offer better prices than most major retailers, but it looks like Home Bargains is just edging it out for the cheapest prices for the everyday essentials on this occasion.
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