Earlier this month, I received my Nectar card shopping round-up from Sainsbury’s. I was shocked to find out I had visited my local Sainsbury’s a whopping 385 times last year. The ‘Check you out’ campaign provides a personalised summary of the previous year’s shopping habits in the Nectar app, highlighting most-bought items, total points earned, and store-specific rankings. My round-up wasn’t too surprising if you factor in that I live within five minutes of my local shop, which means I tend to buy day to day rather than doing a weekly shop.
I also live near an Aldi store, which I also visit regularly. This got me thinking… why do I keep going back to Sainsbury’s when my Aldi shops are usually cheaper, and the quality is just as good? The answer lies in what I tend to buy most from Sainsbury’s. I was surprised to find I was the number one buyer of a particular item in my town: Satsumas.
Just to be clear, I often go shopping with my husband, who loves fruit. I have known him to finish off a whole bag of oranges, two punnets of berries, and a couple of apples in one sitting.
So, it is likely he is the reason we buy so many satsumas. However, I realised the reason we consistently buy fruit from Sainsbury’s rather than Aldi is the quality.
When I’m at Aldi, I will buy the odd punnet of blueberries or some apples for my husband, but he says the quality isn’t as good, and I’m inclined to agree.
While more expensive, Sainsbury’s fruit tends to have a better flavour and texture, and lasts much longer in the fridge. Of course, this is only down to my own taste, experience and preferences.
Last year, our local Aldi store introduced a fresh bakery section, and I’ve never seen the shop so busy. The smell of freshly baked bread and pastries fills the air as you walk in, enticing you to buy pain au chocolat, Portuguese custard tarts and sourdough loaves.
To this day, I still find it difficult to resist grabbing a caramel-filled doughnut on my way to the checkout.
Not everyone has the luxury of shopping around for items, but if you do, you can often find better deals, yellow sticker reduced items and better quality items.
The one thing I’ve learnt from these eye-watering numbers is I probably ought to shop less at Sainsbury’s and more at Aldi to save money. But I’ll still be heading to Sainsbury’s to pick up my fruit.
