Tesco is the cheapest place to buy popular wines with a loyalty card - but the most expensive without, Which? finds

Which? tracked the prices of 15 widely available branded wines at Asda, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose from February to April 2024 using an independent price comparison website. 

For Clubcard holders, Tesco was the cheapest on average for 13 out of the 15 bottles the consumer champion compared. It was also the cheapest supermarket based on the total price of all 15 bottles, with these costing an average £108.43 with a Clubcard.

Shoppers who are not members of the scheme, or left their card at home, would have paid more at Tesco than any other store for eight of the 15 branded wines in our analysis. In total, non-members would have paid 11% more on average than Clubcard holders at Tesco (£120.67). Which? believes raises questions about whether non-members are paying over the odds when they shop at Tesco.

Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose also run member-only discounts, but are less likely to offer these on wine. Aldi and Lidl did not sell these wine brands during the time period of Which?’s analysis.

Asda was the second-cheapest supermarket in the analysis, at just £2.57 on average more than Tesco’s Clubcard total. It offered the lowest prices on Yellow Tail Pinot Grigio and Brancott Estate Sauvignon Blanc and was second-cheapest on average for eight of the 15 bottles. None of Asda’s prices are exclusive to loyalty scheme members. 

Which? also tracked how many times the same 15 branded bottles were discounted over a 12-month period* and found three were discounted more than 50% of the year for Tesco Clubcard members, and one was reduced for over half the year at Asda.

The Chartered Trading Standard Institute has said discounts lasting for ‘a materially longer period than the higher price was offered’ are 'less likely' to be compliant with its guidance - leading Which? to question whether these offers were quite as good as they appeared.  

When Which? put this to Tesco, it disagreed and said it complied with all the rules governing promotions. Asda did not provide a comment.

Overall, four-fifths of the bottles in the analysis were on promotion for at least 40% of the year at Asda, Sainsbury’s and Tesco.

Fans of Barefoot White Zinfandel Rosé may want to avoid buying it at Waitrose, which charged a punchy 24% more on average than Tesco’s Clubcard price.

At Tesco, shoppers would pay as much as 16% more on average if they did not use a Clubcard.

Ele Clark, Which? Retail Editor, said:

“Our research highlights the challenge shoppers face if they want to find the best value wine. There are several deals in Tesco if you have a Clubcard, but if you don't have one or forget it when you pop out for a bottle, you could end up paying up to 16% more.

“When buying wine it is worth shopping around to get the best price, especially if you have a specific brand in mind.”

ENDS 

Notes to eds

*February to April 2023 vs February to April 2024 prices

Cheapest and priciest supermarkets for 15 branded wines 

Table notes: Total cost of 15 popular wines based on average prices from February to April 2024, including discounts but not multibuys

Steep differences between retailers

The table below reveals the cheapest and priciest supermarket for each of the 15 branded wines that we looked at:

Table notes: Average prices over a three-month period - from February to April 2024. Prices include discounts but not multibuy offers. 

Data on Morrisons and Waitrose's member-only discounts were not available at the time of writing. However, Which? knows that their loyalty promotions are very limited compared to those of Sainsbury's and Tesco. Sainsbury's did not offer any nationwide Nectar discounts on these branded wines during this time period.

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.

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