I know what you’re thinking. Waitrose? How can that be an amazing saving?
Sure, you can get a cheaper “typical” shopping basket of groceries at Lidl or Asda, probably even Tesco and Sainsburys. It’s down to personal taste, but for me the quality of the produce at Waitrose is usually much better than the other supermarkets. The problem is Waitrose has a reputation – not without reason – for being one of the most expensive supermarkets.
Luckily I’ve found some ways that Waitrose can save you more than the cut price competitors. I’m not saying do all your shopping here, but you can make some serious savings on higher end food and drink.
In fact, our freezer is full of more bargain priced meat and bread from Waitrose than any other supermarket, and that’s all down to my Sunday morning trip to pick up a paper.
Really good reductions
Every supermarket will have reduced to clear stock, but in my experience none of them lower prices as much as Waitrose. Turn up at the right time and you could be saving 80% on items with that day’s sell by date. Don’t forget to check the fresh meat & fish counters too.
Even better, Waitrose is one of the few (I know Tesco do but Sainsbury’s don’s seem to. Let me know in the comments section below if other places do too) that honours multibuy deals on reduced items. So you get both discounts.
Most recently, there were two packs of sausage meat reduced from £3.29 to 99p, then an extra £1.60 off as part of a “two for £5” deal. That meant £6.58 of very good quality meat was only 38p! I’ve even walked away essentially being paid goods because of this as the discount was higher than the reduced costs.
MyWaitrose card freebies and discounts
Do you fancy a free tea? Maybe a coffee? How about a newspaper? Well you can get all these with Waitrose’s loyalty card.
Unlike Tesco Clubcard and Nectar you don’t earn points when you shop but there are additional benefits:
- Free tea or coffee – you don’t even need to buy anything
- Free paper when you spend £5 (Monday to Friday) or £10 (weekends). Choose from The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Telegraph, Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday, Scottish Daily Mail, The Scottish Mail on Sunday, The Guardian, The Observer, The Times and The Sunday Times.
- 10% off selected products (varies each week)
- Money off vouchers (most recently there was £3 of meat)
You can get a card at the checkout.
They price match Tesco
Which? research shows that an average shops is more expensive at Waitrose, but it’s not as expensive as you’d think. They price match Tesco on branded products, though not on special offers, and have a pretty decent “essentials” range of own brand items. If you’ve the time you can always compare prices on MySupermarket so you’ll know if you’re paying well over the odds or the same as everywhere else.
I wouldn’t recommend going out of the way to shop at a Waitrose – it’s possible to hit a store and there’s nothing you want or need reduced. But if you’re passing by at the right time or getting a paper anyway, I think Waitrose is an amazing way to get great quality produce for less than full price stuff of lower quality. Plus free tea and coffee!
If you’ve liked this article, you might also want to read my 9 tips to save at the supermarket.
I too have walked away with goods and chash when the multi buy discounts exceed the reduced price (the 99p sausages were a great buy with 80p off per pack) but alas no more. They stopped it in the last week
That’s a shame – thanks for letting me and other readers know.
Probably not a big concern for bargain hunters, but they are the most ethical of the supermarkets, too. They don’t screw over their suppliers and they don’t deal with dodgy imports or companies with bad animal treatment. which is nice. I usually shop there when I use their free car park, and I have picked up some bargains from time to time.
Agreed. Staying ethical and money saving at the same time is never easy. I’m planning on writing a guide in the near future as I’m sure many struggle. For me, it’s the welfare of the animals that’s my priority when buying meat. I know some people can’t afford more but it’s the one area I won’t compromise – which is where the reductions here really help.
For me it’s quality over quantity – I don’t mind paying that little bit extra for quality. In the unlikely even you do have to return an item to Waitrose because it’s off they go they the extra mile on service recovery… they’ll replace the item and give you your money back.