We all know that the cost of living crisis has seen supermarket shoppers scrutinising shelf prices a lot more closely than before. But customers have been left baffled after discovering Waitrose is selling full jars of jam for a lower price than empty ones.
An image has been circulating on Twitter this week showing the price between a jar of Bonne Maman jam for £1.71 and an empty glass Waitrose jar with a red and white gingham lid for £2.
The social media user who shared the snap wrote: “At @waitrose you can buy an empty jam jar for £2 or an identical one full of jam for £1.71. Your move…”
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Some found flaws in the comparison, because the jam jars weren’t the same size. However, it turns out a jar of the store's own brand raspberry jam will set you back £1.20 - but an empty jar of the exact same size in the same shop costs £2.50 - a difference of £1.30.
The items were on sale at the Waitrose store in Worcester this week. On Twitter, people tweeted about the differences. One said: "Clean air is incredibly expensive these days."
Another user said: "I re-use an empty Bonne Maman jar every day for overnight oats. Beats me why people buy new jars."
One sarcastic shopper said buying the cheaper jars was about "taking back control", while another added: "27p in Aldi lad."
Manchester Evening News contacted Waitrose, who have since clarified the prices. One of the reasons that the jam is cheaper is because Waitrose are able to buy it in larger quantities and benefit from economies of scale, with it being such a popular product.
A spokesperson for the supermarket added: "Jam Jars are popular at the moment - not only for storing homemade jam and overnight oats but also for crafting. There is, of course, the option to buy our great value Essential Waitrose Jam and reuse the jar - but if that’s not your jam we’ve provided an alternative."
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