Is it more expensive to shop at Tesco Express and Sainsbury's Local convenience stores?

New Which? research shows that you could be spending hundreds of pounds a year more by regularly shopping at convenience stores rather than large supermarkets.

Convenience stores offer a local lifeline for many people and are an easy alternative when looking to avoid the effort of doing a big shop. But our latest pricing analysis has shown that convenience comes at a steep cost – at a time when grocery prices are a big concern for many. 

Which? analysed the prices of a trolley of own-label and branded items at the two largest traditional supermarket convenience chains, Tesco Express and Sainsbury's Local, and compared the costs with the same items at their larger supermarket counterparts.  

Tesco prices varied the most, with our research showing that shoppers could be spending around 10% more over the course of a year at Tesco Express compared with larger Tesco stores or online. 

How much more does it cost to shop at a convenience store?

We checked the price of popular groceries at large Sainsbury's and Tesco stores and their convenience store counterparts for every week of 2022. 

Our trolleys of groceries were based on our regular monthly supermarket price comparison , and included Anchor Spreadable Butter, a Hovis white bread loaf, McVitie's biscuits, and own-label chopped tomatoes and milk. 

Tesco vs Tesco Express

We compared the prices of 75 groceries between Tesco and Tesco Express, and found a massive yearly price difference of £817.91. That makes Tesco Express 10% more expensive than larger Tesco stores over the year. 

The weekly price difference was £15.73 on average, and if you were unlucky enough to pick the convenience store in mid-November (the week with the greatest disparity) then you'd have paid a difference of £19.78. 

Sainsbury's vs Sainsbury's Local

We compared the prices of 69 groceries between Sainsbury's and Sainsbury's Local, and found that you would have paid £477.93 more in 2022 if you only shopped in the convenience store. 

• Find out more: which was the cheapest supermarket in 2022?

Which groceries cost you more at convenience stores?

Our pricing analysis revealed products with steep mark-ups at both Sainsbury's Local and Tesco Express stores. The table below shows the 11 items with the largest proportionate differences between average prices over the year. 

Tesco's own-label sweet potatoes had the biggest proportionate price difference, costing 37% extra on average at Tesco Express stores. The second-biggest difference was on Mr Kipling Bakewell Slices, which were, on average, 28% more expensive at Tesco Express. 

Fans of Heinz Cream of Tomato Soup would have paid, on average, £1.37 at Sainsbury's Local compared with £1.15 at bigger Sainsbury's stores – a 19% difference.

If any of these items are regularly on your shopping list, we'd recommend picking them up at larger supermarkets or adding them to your online shopping. 

Are any groceries cheaper at convenience stores?

A few of the products in our analysis were cheaper at convenience stores than at big supermarkets, so grabbing these at a small local store won't break the bank. 

Anchor Spreadable Butter Tub (500g), Colgate Total Original Toothpaste (125ml) and Magnum Almond Ice Cream (4 pack) were all 3% cheaper, on average, at Sainsbury's Local than at Sainsbury's. 

Tesco's own-label unsalted butter block (250g) was 2% cheaper, on average, at Tesco Express than at Tesco. 

• Find out more: what's happening to supermarket food prices?

What about other convenience stores?

We only had access to pricing data for Sainsbury's Local and Tesco Express for our analysis, but there are nearly 50,000 convenience stores across the UK. 

Here we take a look at the news about other convenience stores.

• Asda Express In December, Asda opened its second Asda Express store in Tottenham Hale, North London, following the launch of a store in the West Midlands.  It expects to open between 15 and 30 Asda Express sites over the next year, aiming for 300 convenience stores by the end of 2026. Mohsin Issa, Asda’s co-owner said: 'our ambition is to become the convenience destination of choice by providing shoppers great value and a comprehensive and convenient range of products'. Asda has also acquired 132 Co-op petrol station forecourts that it plans to convert into its convenience store format. 
• Amazon Fresh Amazon began opening Amazon Fresh convenience stores in the UK in 2021, but recently announced that it had shut its store in Dalston, London. At the same time, the online platform announced a new store opening in Croydon, south London. Fresh stores use Amazon's 'Just Walk Out' technology, which uses cameras to track what you've picked up while shopping and then bills your Amazon account after you leave the store. 
• McColl's Last year, Morrisons beat Asda to acquire convenience store chain McColl's, in a bid to save it from going into administration. The supermarket giant announced later in the year that it would close 132 of McColl's 1,164 shops which were loss-making and had 'no realistic prospect of achieving a breakeven position in the medium term'. More than 285 McColl's stores have been converted into Morrisons Daily stores, and Morrisons plans to convert a further 1,000 shops within the next two years. 

'We know the big supermarkets have the ability to take action'

The large differences in price show how challenging food shopping can be, especially for people who are more vulnerable to food insecurity, don’t shop online, or don’t have easy access to a larger supermarket. 

In November, Which? published the Priority Places for Food Index, developed with the Consumer Data Research Centre at the University of Leeds, which showed that seven in 10 UK Parliamentary constituencies have at least one area in need of urgent help accessing affordable food – meaning that people living in these areas are most at risk in the cost of food crisis.

Which? is campaigning for supermarkets to do more to support consumers through the current cost of living crisis in a range of ways. 

Sue Davies, Which? head of food policy, said:  'Convenience stores offer a local lifeline for some shoppers, but Which? research shows shopping at a supermarket convenience shop rather than a bigger store comes at a cost – at a time when soaring grocery prices are putting huge pressure on household budgets.

'We know the big supermarkets have the ability to take action and make a real difference to people struggling through the worst cost of living crisis in decades. That's why we’re calling on them to ensure everyone has easy access to basic, affordable food lines at a store near them, can easily compare the price of products to get the best value, and that promotions are targeted at supporting people most in need.'

• Do you want to see supermarkets take action? Sign the petition.