With crippling inflation making the cost of everything including our food shop go up, most households are considering shopping around the supermarkets to find the best deals.
And while you may be familiar with the big UK names like Tesco , Asda , Sainsbury’s and Aldi , there are some places you may not have thought to try before. One such store is Costco — the third-largest retailer in the world. Although the chain is perhaps most commonly associated with the US, it does still have multiple stores across the UK, including ones in Cardiff and Chester.
Emma Gill, a reporter for our sister title the Manchester Evening News, decided to head to her nearest Costco to buy some staples of a typical weekly food shop to compare it with UK favourite Tesco. And while you may have to travel a bit further to get to Costco than Tesco depending on where you live — there’s just one Costco store in the North East located in Gateshead — it may be worth it for the savings.
Almost every item Emma bought from Costco was cheaper than its Tesco equivalent, including coffee, orange juice and cereal, as well as toiletries such as loo roll and laundry detergent. The total bill for Costco came to £103.96 - £13.09 cheaper than Tesco, which cost £117.05 for the equivalent 10 items.
Costco’s speciality is bulk sales, which can mean grabbing products for a discounted price if you have the means to get the larger amounts home and store them until you need them. Among those that caught Emma’s eye were a 12-pack of Colgate toothpastes on offer at £8.39, and a six-pack of Source shower gels for £4.42.
There is a caveat though - anyone looking to visit Costco should note that you need a membership card in order to do your shopping there. This costs £33.60 a year, working out at less than £3 a month, and you can find out if you qualify based on your profession or qualifications here .
Here’s the full shopping list prices at Costco/Tesco:
Product |
Costco | Tesco |
Fairy non bio 4.5L |
£15.59 |
£17 |
Comfort fabric softener 5L |
£5.74 |
£6.50 |
Dishwasher tablets Finish/Fairy (2x100) |
£17.98 |
£26.50 |
Toilet rolls / (equivalent of £18 for 40) |
£16.18 for 40 |
£13.50 for 30* |
Tetley teabags |
£8.99 for 720 |
£8 for 600** |
Douwe Egberts coffee |
£10.89 |
£11.50 |
Robinsons orange juice / |
£3.58 |
£4 Clubcard |
Diet Coke / 7UP |
£11.63 |
£7.50 |
Kellogg's Coco Pops 2 x 720g |
£5.19 |
£7 |
Tuna |
£8.19 for 12x145g |
£6.30 for 8x145g*** |
* Equivalent of £18 for 40
** Equivalent of £9.60 for 720
*** Equivalent of £9.45 for 12
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