By changing the way he shopped, journalist Harry Ingham was able to make a huge saving after seeing a hack on the MoneySavingExpert website. As the cost of living crisis continues, and inflation sits at nine percent, shoppers are being urged to crouch down in supermarket aisles to make substantial savings.
Consumer experts at MoneySavingExpert.com, which was founded by Martin Lewis, have pointed out the simple one second hack of crouching down.
The theory goes that supermarkets tend to put the most expensive (and most profitable) items within the customer’s eyeline. But cheaper and own brand items can often be found on the bottom shelf.
Reporter Harry Ingham, from Hull Live, put this theory to the test to see if he could make savings.
He said: “I started with a household essential: I checked the price of top-shelf coffee versus bottom-shelf coffee and found that Douwe Egberts cost an eye-watering £5.90, while ASDA’s own brand was a mere £1.83. The teabags told a similar story. The Pukka green tea on the top shelf was £2.79, whereas ASDA’s own green tea was only 70p a box.
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“By the way – to answer an obvious question you might have, I compared like for like on size and weight – not just the most and least expensive items. In this way, I found some stark price differences: for example, a tub of top shelf Fage Greek yoghurt costs a whopping £4.50, while the bottom shelf ASDA equivalent is priced at £1.50.
“I headed to the milk aisle – though on this occasion I decided to go dairy free. A carton of Califia Oat milk, found on the top shelf, will cost you £2.65, whereas the ASDA oat milk, on the bottom shelf, only costs £1.
“With butter, meanwhile, a middle-shelf pack of Lurpak will set you back by £3.50, whereas a bottom shelf tub of I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter is only a pound.”
Harry found that the theory had been proven correct after finding cheaper alternatives on the bottom shelves in all food categories across the supermarket.
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Additionally, jams and preserves, such as Bonne Maman, were retailing at £2, while the ASDA jam on the lowest shelf was being sold for only 85p. Similarly, Pip and Nut peanut butter was on the top shelf at £3 whereas the £1.20 ASDA brand was at the bottom.
Looking at fizzy drinks, Harry found that Coca Cola came in at £1.77, while the bottom shelf Smartprice cola was priced at 20p.
He concluded: “Adding all of the prices together, the total cost of your higher shelf basket would come out at £51.78. If you opted for the lower shelf alternatives, your basket would only cost £16.82. Yes, you read that right. Just by shifting your gaze to the bottom of the supermarket shelves, you could save £34.96.
“Some people might say, well, you get what you pay for – and some products will be of a higher quality than others. But with the cost of food soaring, others might be surprised to learn just how much you can save by dropping down a shelf or two.
“So, as prices continue to rise, next time you head out to do your weekly shop, keep an eye on the lower shelves. You might just save a fortune.”
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