10 smart ways to save money on your supermarket shop
There are plenty of ways for shoppers to get a better deal, and it starts with understanding some of the sneaky tactics that supermarkets employ to get us to spend more.
The price of a typical basket of groceries has increased by more than 20 per cent in the past five years. And, if a product hasn’t experienced a price jump, chances are the amount of the product you’re getting is less.
It’s known as “shrinkflation”, and the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission found it has hit everything from cereals, hot cross buns, corn chips, dips, biscuits and cleaning products.
However, there are plenty of ways for shoppers to get a better deal, and it starts with understanding some of the tactics that supermarkets employ to get us to spend more.
Here are 10 smart ways to save money each week.
1. Shop with a list
Supermarkets like people who wander aimlessly through the aisles lobbing unnecessary items into their trolleys. This is impulse buying, and it can be prevented by writing a shopping list and only buying things on it.
2. Don’t shop daily
Experts say you will probably spend less money if you shop just once or twice a week. Visiting the supermarket every day or two after work increases the risks of buying things you weren’t planning on buying in the first place.
3. Wisely use unit pricing
Supermarkets must display the unit price of an item, which is its cost per unit of measurement such as per kilogram or per litre.
Before choosing a packaging size, check the unit price, because it may tell you that even if an item is on special at 20 or 30 per cent off, it could still offer less value than buying the same product in a bigger pack.
It can also go the other way; sometimes a product is on special and it may be better to buy two of those rather than the bigger version.
Inspect the unit price closely. But most of the time the larger-size packages offer the best value for money, and understanding this can be a great money-saving tactic, especially when buying non-perishable goods.
4. Let AI do the legwork
Use AI to create your weekly meal plan and ask it to include meals that cost less. For instance, we asked Google’s Gemini to create a five-day dinner meal plan and to include three family dinners that could be made for under $20.
It created a plan with tips on which supermarket to use to buy some of the products, along with the meals and simple recipes.
Once it has created the plan for you, ask it to then create a shopping list for the meal plan so you’ve got it handy when you hit the shops. It lightens your mental load while saving money at the same time.
5. Look up and down
Product placement on supermarket shelves is important, and it is often better to look high and low to potentially find the best deals. Grocery manufacturers pay for good shelf positions, so they have to recoup that expense somehow.
6. Online is OK
Don’t trust yourself at the supermarket? Consider online grocery shopping where you can set up shopping lists, check your spending as you go, have easy access to specials and get reminders on what you may have missed to add to your basket based on your regular purchases.
Click and collect allows you to have someone else shop for you for free while you pick it up from the supermarket’s dedicated car parks later, or there’s delivery options. If you can be flexible with your delivery times, you’ll get a cheaper price.
7. App action
Several apps are great at saving shoppers money. Some simply show all the items that are on sale at half-price in a given week – handy to check when putting together your shopping list.
The Half Price app highlights the 50 per cent discounts at Coles and Woolworths, Frugl shows discounts at the big two plus Aldi and IGA, while ShopFully shows the latest supermarket catalogues.
8. Shop seasonally
When buying fruit and veg, the cost of produce that is out of season can potentially be two or three times more expensive than in-season items. A few small menu changes at certain times of the year can deliver big savings.
9. Collect reward points
Programs such as the Woolworths Everyday Rewards scheme and Flybuys, which is jointly owned by Coles and Wesfarmers, are sometimes criticised for collecting consumer spending data.
On the flip side, they remain hugely popular, with about 25 million members between them, and are easy to use – simply scan your card or app at the supermarket checkout or other participating retailers.
The points collected can be converted to frequent-flyer points, shopping discounts, travel and rewards store products, and can be maximised through special offers and doubling-up with a rewards credit card so that multiple points are earned on every dollar spent.
10. Look beyond brand names
Supermarket chain house brands are usually cheaper, and often at a similar quality to well-known brands. In many cases, they’re worth a try. You can always switch back to a more expensive brand name if necessary.
Having said that, some of the team at The Australian who have tried the following products routinely go back to buy them. In fact, they specifically go to these retailers to buy these products:
* Choceur dark hazelnut chocolate (Aldi)
* Choceur milk coconut chocolate (Aldi)
* Coles Bakery flatbread (Coles)
* Urban Eats Indian style roti bread (Aldi)
* Lentil tabbouleh salad (Aldi)
* Woolworths wholemeal loaf (Woolworths)
* Coles pizza bases (Coles)
* Lazzio dark ground coffee beans (Aldi).
To join the conversation, please log in. Don't have an account? Register
Join the conversation, you are commenting as Logout