Sainsbury’s and Tesco, without loyalty cards, were more expensive than Waitrose for branded groceries in February

Sainsbury’s and Tesco customers could be paying more than Waitrose shoppers for some of Britain’s most popular branded groceries if they aren’t signed up to loyalty schemes, according to new Which? analysis of average prices in February. 

Asda was the cheapest on average for our long list of 245 branded groceries, which included popular brands such as Heinz beans, Nescafé coffee and Mr Kipling cakes. 

If you’re attached to your branded groceries, from butter and bread to coffee and cakes, read on to find out how much extra you might pay by shopping at the different supermarkets.  

Asda cheapest for branded goods

Asda was the cheapest supermarket for branded groceries in February, with the list of products totalling £823.58. 

Supermarkets that offer loyalty schemes were the next cheapest for the month, with members receiving significant discounts compared with non-members. Tesco with a Clubcard (£837.43), Sainsbury’s with Nectar (£848.56), and Morrisons with a More Card (£858.67) were, on average, 2%, 3%, and 4% more expensive, respectively, than Asda.

Shopping at Sainsbury’s without a Nectar loyalty card (£942.66) was the most expensive way to buy our branded list, at 14% more on average than Asda. Tesco without a Clubcard (£916.56) was 11% more than Asda. 

Without a loyalty card, both were more expensive than high-end Waitrose (£899.05) and Ocado (£867.17).

• Find out more: the best supermarkets in 2026, rated by customers.

The impact of loyalty card pricing

There were 186 products from Sainsbury’s on loyalty promotion through the month of our analysis, 126 at Tesco and 4 at Morrisons. None of the products on our list were part of a loyalty promotion at Waitrose.

While most people are part of a membership scheme, some customers may be unwilling to sign up to loyalty cards for reasons such as data privacy, and others have no choice due to unfair eligibility criteria. 

Currently, Tesco customers under 18 can't sign up for a Clubcard, but the supermarket recently said it would review this before the end of the year.

Asda and Ocado don’t have member-only pricing.

• Find out more: huge win for shoppers as Tesco reviews unfair Clubcard policy.

The products with the biggest price differences

We’ve compared the average price of branded groceries across supermarkets in February, including loyalty discounts where applicable, and identified the products with the largest percentage difference between the cheapest and most expensive supermarkets. 

Tilda Boil in the Bag Basmati Rice (4 pack) and McCain Lightly Spiced Potato Wedges (650g) saw the biggest differences on average between the highest and lowest price. Both products were at their lowest price at Tesco, and were part of the supermarket’s new Everyday Low Prices commitment to keep prices low on loved brands. 

L’Oréal Paris Elvive Bond Repair Shampoo (200ml) was the cheapest, on average, at Tesco for those with a loyalty card. Without a loyalty card, it was double the price, on average, at Tesco.

Filippo Berio Classic Olive Oil (500ml) was cheapest at Asda. Another Filippo Berio product, the Extra Virgin Olive Oil (750ml), was £7.48 at Asda versus £11.50 at Waitrose – a £4.02 difference. 

Ocado was the cheapest for Pampers size 1 nappies (50 pack) and Mr Kipling Fruit Pie Selection (6 pack) on average for the month.

• Find out more: see how the supermarket loyalty schemes compare.

Support original journalism

Our award-winning research helps us in our mission to make life simpler, fairer and safer for everyone.

Join Which?

How do the supermarkets compare on coffee?

We looked at how the supermarkets compared on one product type – coffee. 

Asda was the cheapest supermarket, on average, for Lavazza Qualita Rossa Ground Coffee (250g) and Kenco Smooth Instant Coffee (200g), while Waitrose was the cheapest for the two Nescafé products in our list. 

Sainsbury’s without a Nectar card was among the most expensive, on average, for four of the coffee products. 

• Find out more: use our supermarket food inflation tracker to find out what's happening to grocery prices.

What did the supermarkets say?

Each supermarket included in our price analysis was given the right to reply to our specific examples. Only Morrisons and Sainsbury's responded.

Morrisons said: 'Morrisons remains committed to providing good, honest value, and we’re working hard to keep our prices down and competitive so our customers can spend less while still enjoying the quality Morrisons is famous for. 

'In addition, our More Card members can earn Five More Points on every product in store, online and in Morrisons Daily stores, and also benefit from personalised offers and money-off coupons on the things they buy the most of. Customers to our Cafés can also take advantage of a range of offers, such as our Kids Eat Free promotion, which runs every day, or free refills on all hot drinks.'

Sainsbury's said: 'We have invested more than £1bn in recent years to help keep prices low, and we know more customers are choosing to do their shop at Sainsbury’s. We are committed to helping customers access great quality at lower prices and remain focused on offering outstanding value across thousands of products through our Aldi Price Match scheme, Nectar Prices, Your Nectar Prices and our own‑brand value lines.'

Where are Aldi and Lidl?

Our research has shown that the discounters offer great value, and are consistently the cheapest in our monthly cheapest supermarket analysis, which includes a large number of own-label products and a handful of branded items. 

We couldn’t include Aldi and Lidl in this analysis because they don’t stock the same range of branded goods that the non-discounter supermarkets do.

• Find out more: the cheapest supermarket of the month.