Tesco Express customers hit with £520 warning for doing ‘weekly store’

On Sep 25, 2024

Tesco Express shoppers have been slapped with a £520 warning for doing their weekly shop in the supermarket. More than half of shoppers shop at convenience stores at least once a week, according to new Which? research published this week.

The consumer body compared the cost of popular grocery items at the largest supermarket-branded convenience chains – Morrisons Daily, Sainsbury’s Local and Tesco Express – against prices at their full-sized supermarket counterparts.

Morrisons Daily had the biggest price differences, with our research finding you’ll pay 21 per cent more. Which said: “Our 42 groceries would have averaged around £11 (14%) more at Sainsbury’s Local than Sainsbury’s supermarkets, and £10 (11%) more at Tesco Express than Tesco supermarkets for loyalty members, which adds up to more than £500 extra over a year.”

It means Tesco Express shoppers are paying £520 a year extra. Which? said: “Tesco Express was the cheapest of the convenience stores – but only if you have a Clubcard. The total cost of our shop averaged £108.28 for members and £117.30 for non-members.

“As Sainsbury’s and Morrisons don’t currently offer member-only discounts in their convenience stores, the total average cost of the convenience basket was the same regardless of membership: £111.83 at Sainsbury’s and £119.29 at Morrisons.”

Steve Burt, professor of retail marketing at the University of Stirling’s Institute for Retail Studies, told Which? that grocers are rushing to open convenience stores due to changing consumer behaviour. “We all started to shop more locally during the pandemic and more people now work from home, so they’re popping out to their local store rather than doing a big weekly shop,” he says.

“In all aspects of life, we now expect things to come to us – whether that’s online shopping or a compromise where a retailer is on the high street or at the petrol station.”