Supermarket Sleuths: Ask this question next time you are grocery shopping to save big
It's end-of-year sales season at your local shopping centre.
Pretty much from now until January 2025, shoppers can look forward to virtually non-stop sales kicking off with Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas sales, Boxing Day Sales, New Years sales and back-to-school sales.
These sales, usually reserved for non-food retailers, are now everywhere including at your local supermarket, which can prove confusing for some shoppers hoping to save on food costs during what is an expensive time of the year.
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I've been thinking a lot about grocery prices lately. Supplied/9honey
This is what we'll look at for this week's Supermarket Sleuths, because I have a lot of ideas on how best to save – including one key question that, if you ask it while shopping, you will most certainly save big time:
"Is this the lowest price possible for this product?"
Then you get online and check.
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Now with Black Friday sales near, you can imagine the carnival of colourful sales tags. The Sydney Morning Herald
This is the question you ask regardless of whether a product is discounted or not.
Just because a grocery item has a brightly-coloured sales tag on it or is on display in a special sales section, doesn't mean it is the most affordable.
If you get into the habit of questioning every seemingly low price, you may find an even cheaper price elsewhere, freeing up more of your grocery budget.
Supermarkets have been in the spotlight recently for their own sales strategies 9Honey/Jo Abi
Consumer Psychologist and Thinkerbell founder Adam Ferrier has previously explained to 9honey how sales tags work on customers.
"When in a supermarket, and doing routine and familiar tasks we rely a lot on our auto-pilot brain," he said.
"So we tend to look for clear signs and symbols that make shopping easier."
Ferrier said labels and other call-outs are shortcuts to the brain that say "pick me".
"I don't think people look at these things long enough for them to process what the labels actually mean – they are just a promise of overall goodness," he continues.
"Medals on wine labels work in much the same way. 'It has a medal, therefore it must be good'.
These strategies only work if customers don't stop and check that they are paying the lowest prices possible. 9Honey/Jo Abi
"In short, the brain seeks signs and symbols to make shopping easier, and brands' call-outs like these appeal to that busy over-worked part of the brain."
I've been a consumer reporter for several years now and by asking myself this question ahead of every single purchase, I have saved so much money.
It also helps to do your grocery shopping at a shopping centre containing as many grocery retailers as possible.
'Is this the lowest price possible for this product?' Then get online and check. 9Honey/Jo Abi
I drive an extra five minutes to shop at a centre that has Coles, Woolies, Aldi and a fruit market so I can easily compare prices and go back and forth getting the best deals possible.
I normally start by looking at what is the most expensive item on my shopping list that week.
I then look up which supermarket has the lowest price, and I start my shopping there, checking items off my list as I go.
I shop at all of them. That's how real savings happen. Supplied/9honey
The most expensive item on my shopping list is usually cat litter or coffee or olive oil or meat.
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If I come across something that isn't on sale, I can easily look up the other retailers to see if I can do better.
That's when I head over to them, having placed my purchases so far in the car, while waving at waiting cars to indicate I am not leaving yet (so awkward) to avoid my trolley being scanned and searched multiple times by the many cameras now placed at supermarket checkouts.
The most expensive item on my shopping list is usually cat litter or coffee or olive oil or meat. 9Honey/Jo Abi
Fruits and vegetables are the most affordable and tasty when they are in season, and that's also easy to see.
They are the items that are front and centre and plentiful at the front of the shops.
As for meat, we've started placing a monthly order with a meat delivery company and usually grab whatever is on special.
Fruits and vegetables are the most affordable and tasty when they are in season. 9Honey
That leaves only chicken mince to purchase during my grocery shopping trips, as that has become a staple ingredient in my home and isn't always available through our meat delivery service.
Then, and this is the most important step, with many money you have saved, bank it. Don't spend it. Say you had $300 for grocery shopping that week and you only spend $278, that extra $22 goes straight into savings before you even get back to your car.
The information provided on this website is general in nature only and does not constitute personal financial advice. The information has been prepared without taking into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on any information on this website you should consider the appropriateness of the information having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs.
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