Sainsbury's : You Have Been Rumbled !!!

Tawny_Owl_2

I used to shop regularly at Sainsbury's but in recent times have found their prices to be not competitive.

And I think I've discovered the reason why.....:search:

Apart from items "reduced for quick sale", all their prices have been rounded to the nearest 5p.

So if a product costs, say, 59p at Morrisons it will cost 60p or 65p at Sainsbury's.

The only product I could see displayed which was not a multiple of 5 was loose bananas at 68p (per kg).

Would be interesting to hear from Sainsbury's as to their marketing strategy - which I appear to have rumbled !!

Anyone else noted this ????

robin58

Regardless of the rounding up you believe you have found, Sainsburys has been more expensive than other supermarkets to me for at least 2 1/2 years.

If you go on the Mysupermarket website and put in various products, you will find they are more expensive than Waitrose 8 out 10 times. The only time Sainsburys are competitive is when they selling any of their products, branded or own label, on offers.

The trouble is Sainsburys thinks they are a serving the posh end of the market but don't give the quality in the experience of shopping there that Waitrose does. Given the choice of shopping at Sainsburys or Waitrose, I would shop at Waitrose.

Sainsburys tag 'Living well for less' always makes me laugh.

Also the 'rounding up' is not really true in a concept. Iceland round up their prices mostly to full £ mark but their prices are cheaper than Sainsburys on most of the comparable branded goods they sell.

To be honest I have always been an 'offer tart' going from one supermarket to another to get the best prices.

I buy most of my basics from Aldi, then top up what I can't get there at the other supermarkets.

Ectophile

I hadn't noticed, but looking back at my last receipt, everything was a multiple of 5p, except reduced items and loose produce.

I only go there because:

• They have a few products that are much better than Tesco's equivalent.
• I can get 5% off everything by using gift cards.
• They keep giving me vouchers for £3 off if I spend £20.

The lack of decent special offers at Sainsbury's is always disappointing.

robin58

Ectophile wrote: »

I hadn't noticed, but looking back at my last receipt, everything was a multiple of 5p, except reduced items and loose produce.

I only go there because:

• They have a few products that are much better than Tesco's equivalent.
• I can get 5% off everything by using gift cards.
• They keep giving me vouchers for £3 off if I spend £20.

The lack of decent special offers at Sainsbury's is always disappointing.

Watch out with the £3 off for £20 shop. The required spend will creep up to £30 then £40 but you will get a worse money off ratio, usually an increase of £1 per £10 spent, so £40 spend only £4 off.

peachyprice

Sainsbury's is cheaper than Tesco here, if they're rounding up to 5p you can bet Tesco are adding another 2-3p to that.

Tawny_Owl_2

Thanks for all your feedback...I've opened up a can of worms here it seems.

Regarding the "Live Well For Less" catchphrase , they used to have free recipe cards and magazines in their stores, but those seem to have disappeared without trace.

It's a pity that they don't see themselves as "mainstream", I suppose they've got to ensure they don't end up like TESCO (£billions in the red).

I'm actually a vegan and I must say that Sainsbury's food labelling is brilliant. However, I hate being ripped off, otherwise I wouldn't have joined this forum. If I can buy the equivalent product cheaper elsewhere, I'll do so. You need a degree in biochemistry to understand some of the ingredients lists on product labels and I'm always pressing for supermarkets to make them clearer.

tomtontom

You're not being ripped off, their pricing is transparent and some items will be more expensive in other stores, and some cheaper. I quite like retailers charging round amounts, easier to add up as you go. Plus it's not an unusual concept - there's a whole industry made up of pound stores!

robin58

tomtontom wrote: »

You're not being ripped off, their pricing is transparent and some items will be more expensive in other stores, and some cheaper. I quite like retailers charging round amounts, easier to add up as you go. Plus it's not an unusual concept - there's a whole industry made up of pound stores!

Seems to be opaque to me. Sainsburys charge more than the rest of the other supermarkets in their sector. And that is by experience.

geerex

robin58 wrote: »

Seems to be opaque to me. Sainsburys charge more than the rest of the other supermarkets in their sector. And that is by experience.

I'd tend to agree. Most items costing 99p in other shops tend to cost £1 in Sainsbury's. Same story with other roundings. As others have said, their £xx off an £xx spend vouchers can be tempting, but I only use them when they represent a saving of 15% which brings them into line with the other majors. It's not even as if Nectar is a draw now, if it ever was.

Exile_geordie

Im glad for their rounding to 5p as I simply hate coppers(both monetary and the bobbies) and should be done away with.

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth

Ah Sins Bury. They send me money off coupons every four weeks.

Problem is their computer does not know I have not used the previous batch.

Only shop once every two months there, to spend free points from a yrs el company. Otherwise, a waste of parking.