Throughout the cost of living crisis one of the biggest increases in expenditure many people have witnessed is the rise in the price of a weekly shop. Families and individuals across the UK have taken a number of measures to deal with this, including swapping to own brands and even changing supermarkets.
But according to The MEN, supermarket giant Sainsbury's, generally seen as one of the more expensive outlets, has seen a surge in new shoppers. Among them was mum Caitlin Rolle, who told the Manchester Evening News she has been impressed with the supermarket's Aldi price match scheme, which now covers 25% more products than last autumn.
Not only has she been impressed with the price but she has also praised the quality of the food she has been able to purchase. She said: "Sainsbury's was always the high end like M&S and Waitrose, but now they are on par with the rest.
They not only price match Aldi, they also have better quality foods." The 35-year-old sticks to quite a strict budget for her family of eight, taking advantage of bulk buys where she can and making homemade snacks and soups to keep costs down.
"I do a monthly £350 shop, so it works out around £90 per week on average" she added. "I cook from fresh for most meals and meal plan. We bake a lot so the children have snacks homemade so that saves, but we get weekly top ups of milk and bread if needed throughout the week."
Caitlin, who lives in West Yorkshire, says the packs of Sainsbury's 12 breaded ham slices for instance, at £1.75 for 300g, are cheaper than Morrisons ', where she used to buy them, but 'taste better' too.
"Same as the salami," she said. "We use six packs per week, as we are a large family of eight and have it in sandwiches. The quality is amazing at Sainsbury's.
"I buy the shop's own brands and branded too. I buy all baby products from there, toiletries, washing powder. We only use Fairy and it's always a good price."
She's not the only one who's made the switch to Sainsbury's. Steve Hughes, who praised the cost and said 'the food is better' so less of it gets chucked away.
Paul Pickersgill said: "I've moved to Sainsburys from Asda, better quality fruit and veg," and Maxine Denton added: "The supermarkets were the only retailers who made mega money during the pandemic, but still hike their prices for even more profit.
"At Asda I priced a 38 wash Ariel at £10 (outrageous). I walked out and got the same one at Sainsbury’s for £7.50. I lived through a recession before and it was never this bad. They’re just all taking us for mugs."
A Sainsbury's spokesperson said: “With costs going up, we are working hard to keep prices low. Last year we announced that we would invest over £550m by March 2023 into lowering prices as part of our goal to put food back at the heart of Sainsbury’s.
"We're committed to doing everything we can to support customers with the rising cost of living. Through initiatives such as our Aldi Price Match campaign, Price Lock and My Nectar Prices, customers can find low prices on the products they buy most often both in stores and online.
“Our focus on value means that all our customers will find great deals when they shop with us and do not need to go anywhere else to get the best prices on their weekly shop.”
Aldi says it would be 'entirely wrong' to suggest that customers are switching from the budget retailer to Sainsbury's as industry data suggests the opposite. An Aldi spokesperson said: “Week after week, independent price surveys confirm what shoppers know already – that Aldi is the lowest-priced supermarket in the UK. That’s why Aldi has been named by Which? as the UK’s cheapest supermarket for two years running.
"In the last three months alone, Aldi attracted an additional 1.3 million customers, as shoppers switch in their droves from every single major UK supermarket, including Sainsbury’s.”
