Sainsbury’s Nectar Card users have issued a warning over ‘average’ shopping spend

Sainsbury’s customers who use the supermarket’s Nectar card to save money have been warned they are on average £168 worse off a year, based on recent price comparisons. According to figures published by consumer magazine Which?, shoppers who remain loyal to Sainsbury’s are told their loyalty costs them an extra £14 per shop per month, or £168 over a year’s worth of monthly groceries.

Which? has revealed its June 2024 supermarket price benchmarking and for the first time incorporated the price impact of loyalty cards, including Tesco’s Clubcard and Sainsbury’s Nectar card, the Express reports. Despite the fact that the Nectar card reduces the total cost of a basket, Aldi and Lidl (and in the case of Sainsbury’s, Asda and Tesco) still emerged as cheaper options, they say.

Aldi outperformed Sainsbury’s, even taking into account Nectar card prices at Sainsbury’s, by more than £14 per store, according to Which?

In unsurprising news, Waitrose was named the most expensive supermarket by a significant margin, being £32.60 more expensive than Aldi, which was crowned cheapest. Consumer Champion’s monthly analysis involves comparing the average prices of a shop consisting of popular food products at eight of the UK’s largest supermarkets.

June’s list of 65 items included a mix of branded and own-brand items such as Birds Eye Garden Peas, Heinz beans, Hovis bread, milk and butter. According to reports, Aldi was the least expensive supermarket in June for a basket of groceries, with shoppers spending an average of £118.41 over the month.

At just a slightly higher average cost of £121.31, Lidl wasn’t far behind. Sainsbury’s patrons using the Nectar scheme faced charges of £132.90, but without using the loyalty card the cost rose to £137.51. Asda’s bill hit the middle of the road at £131.42.

Ele Clark, Retail Editor at Which?, said: “From this month we will regularly include loyalty pricing in our analysis. As members-only prices continue to rise, Which? believes that the sector must be properly scrutinized and held accountable. so that all buyers – including society’s most vulnerable – can benefit and no one is misled into thinking they are getting a better deal than they really are.

She went on to say: “With food prices continuing to squeeze household budgets, it’s no surprise that many people are choosing to shop at the discounters and Aldi has once again won the title of cheapest supermarket. Our analysis shows that Aldi and Lidl are still cheaper. than traditional supermarkets, even when you include loyalty prices.”