Convenience at a price - Which? reveals how much it really costs to shop at supermarket convenience stores

More than half of respondents in a survey conducted by the consumer champion shop at convenience stores at least once a week, and supermarket-branded outlets are used most often. Which? compared the cost of popular grocery items on three occasions in June and July 2024 at the largest supermarket-branded convenience chains - Morrisons Daily, Sainsbury’s Local and Tesco Express - against prices at their full-sized supermarkets. 

Which? 's basket contained 42 branded and own-label products all commonly available in convenience stores - from cheese and pasta to blueberries and ice cream. Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Tesco offer discounts to their loyalty scheme members, so researchers also checked prices for shoppers with a Morrisons More, Sainsbury’s Nectar or Tesco Clubcard. 

The biggest price difference for the list of 42 items was at Morrisons. Which? 's research found that consumers pay 21 per cent more on average for the same groceries at a Morrisons Daily than at a Morrisons supermarket. A 400g tin of own-label chickpeas was 104 per cent more expensive at the convenience store - £1 in comparison to 49p at the supermarket. 

Another striking price difference was with a 165g tub of Philadelphia soft cheese which cost 63 per cent more on average at a Morrisons Daily - £2.58 compared to £1.58 at a large supermarket branch. The total cost of the basket of groceries at Morrisons Daily averaged £16 more. This could set consumers back a total of £832 more over the course of the year if they bought the same products once a week. 

Three products were discounted for loyalty scheme members in Morrisons’ bigger stores but not at its convenience stores, meaning the average price difference for More cardholders would have been slightly higher, at 22 per cent. While Sainsbury’s and Tesco had fewer variations in their prices between convenience stores and larger stores, Nectar members could still be paying an average of 14 per cent more on average at Sainsbury’s Local, while Clubcard holders could be paying 11 per cent more at Tesco Express. 

Despite the fact that Tesco Express stores do offer ‘Clubcard price’ discounts to members of the loyalty scheme and this was in place at the stores in the consumer champion’s research, a pack of six Mr Kipling Bakewell Slices was £2.32 on average  at Tesco Express but £1.50 at Tesco supermarkets for Clubcard holders - a 54 per cent difference.

Meanwhile, consumers looking for pasta could get a 500g bag of own-label fusilli for 20p cheaper at a larger Sainsburys supermarket - 65p instead of 85p at a Sainsbury’s Local, a 31 per cent difference. 

In total, the basket of 42 groceries would have averaged around £11 more at Sainsbury’s Local and £10 more at Tesco Express for loyalty scheme members, compared to their prices at the larger stores, which adds up to more than £500 extra over a year. The average price difference for shoppers without a Tesco Clubcard was 10 per cent, but 5 per cent for Sainsbury’s customers without a Nectar card. This smaller difference is because ‘Nectar price’ member-only discounts aren’t available in Sainsbury’s Local stores where instead special offers are often available to all, often making non-members’ convenience store shopping costs more comparable to what they would pay in big stores. 

Unfortunately for those forced to shop regularly in smaller supermarket branches, essentials such as milk, bread and butter all had a big markup. All three supermarket convenience stores charged eight per cent more for two pints of own-label, semi-skimmed milk - with or without a loyalty card. A medium white Hovis loaf cost 12 per cent more at both Sainsbury’s Local and Tesco Express, and 14 per cent more at Morrisons Daily. 

Surprisingly, despite the consumer champion’s research showing huge markups, a handful of products were cheaper in convenience stores than supermarkets. A 180g bag of Doritos Cool Original tortilla chips was 15 per cent cheaper, a one litre bottle of Robinsons orange squash was 25 per cent less and Kenco Millicano instant coffee was 32 per cent less at Morrisons Daily. Meanwhile, Clubcard holders paid 14 per cent less, on average, for a five-pack of Nature Valley cereal bars at Tesco Express and six per cent less for a 460g bottle of Heinz Tomato ketchup.

Which?’s investigation concluded that Tesco Express was the cheapest of the convenience stores - but only for shoppers with a Clubcard. The shop cost £108.28 on average for members and £117.30 for non-members. Sainsbury’s and Morrisons do not currently offer member-only discounts in their convenience stores so the total average cost of the grocery basket was the same regardless of membership. The average was £111.83 at Sainsbury’s and £119.29 at Morrisons.

Ele Clark, Which? Retail Editor, said: “Unfortunately, many people are without easy access to transport or online deliveries which leaves them reliant on smaller nearby stores.

“Convenience stores may often be easier to travel to and handy for shoppers who need to stock up on a few essentials, but people who have to use them regularly will be spending significantly more over the course of a year than those with access to larger supermarkets. 

"Sainsbury's, Morrisons and Tesco have committed to offer a broader range of budget and lower-priced ranges in their convenience stores as a result of Which? campaigning, but this latest research shows that more can still be done to increase the range of affordable product options for those consumers who rely on convenience stores.”

-ENDS-

Notes to editors:

The online survey of 1,565 members of the public was conducted in November 2023 and is representative of the GB population (aged 18+). 

Some offers which were branded as member-only Nectar prices in larger stores were available to all in Local stores, due to Sainsbury’s Locals not currently running loyalty discounts. An example of this was a 100g tub of Kenco Millicano Americano instant coffee. It cost £3.50 for Nectar members and £6 for non-members at Sainsbury’s supermarkets in early July. However, it was discounted to £3.50 at Sainsbury’s Local for everyone.

Priority Places for Food Index

Last year Which? mapped where people are most likely to struggle to access affordable food in our Priority Places for Food Index. This was developed with the Consumer Data Research Centre at the University of Leeds. Some of the problems faced by these communities are: poor proximity to large supermarkets, relatively poor online-delivery access and socioeconomic barriers such as fuel poverty. All of these factors can lead to a greater reliance on convenience stores. Indeed, 66 per cent of households earning less than £21,000 per year shop in a smaller store at least once a week. 

Last year, the Competition and Markets Authority concluded: ‘Not everyone is able to benefit fully from strong competition [in the grocery sector], particularly those who cannot travel to large stores or shop online, and therefore may rely on higher priced convenience stores.’ As a result of our Affordable Food For All campaign, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s introduced dozens of budget-range items at hundreds of their convenience stores nationwide. Tesco also introduced over 50 cheaper alternative products at thousands of its convenience stores. The government vowed to make unit pricing on groceries clearer by changing the law. The Competition and Markets Authority announced an inquiry into loyalty pricing after Which? research found that not all loyalty card deals are as good as they seem. Tesco now displays unit pricing on Clubcard offers both online and in-store, which will help their customers compare prices and find the best deal.

Right of replies:

Which? approached all of the supermarkets involved to ask if they wanted to comment on the information about the convenience stores above. Tesco told us that customers make different shopper journeys at Express stores than at larger ones and so they tailor Clubcard Prices offers to suit customer shopping habits. They added that Tesco Express stores are mainly in built-up areas where rents, rates and the operating costs are higher. The difference in prices of some products reflect these increased costs, but their prices remain competitive as they strive to offer great value to their customers. Morrisons and Sainsbury’s declined to comment.

About Which?

Which? is the UK’s consumer champion, here to make life simpler, fairer and safer for everyone. Our research gets to the heart of consumer issues, our advice is impartial, and our rigorous product tests lead to expert recommendations. We’re the independent consumer voice that influences politicians and lawmakers, investigates, holds businesses to account and makes change happen. As an organisation we’re not for profit and all for making consumers more powerful. The information in this press release is for editorial use by journalists and media outlets only. Any business seeking to reproduce information in this release should contact the Which? Endorsement Scheme team at endorsementscheme@which.co.uk.