With the cost of living crisis impacting on households, customers are changing the way they shop. Whether it's looking around for offers, or buying supermarket budget ranges, most people are looking for ways to cut their spending.
One way budget experts swear by for keeping costs down is to buy in bulk. And if you like your branded products, there are some big savings to be made.
Obviously you need the space to store things and the extra cash to buy more than you'd typically need, but if you're able to, you can save some serious cash over time.
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Tesco probably has the largest bulk buy section of all the supermarkets - in fact a whole aisle is dedicated to such deals in its biggest stores, like the one in Walkden, Salford, that I visited this week.
I wanted to see how its prices compared with Costco, the American-owned membership-only wholesaler, which offers discounted prices on big packs of products. And the fact Costco's Trafford Park branch was so busy on a Tuesday morning in October was the first sign that there are savings to be made here.
I managed to avoid being distracted by the Christmas gift displays and sniffed past the fresh cookies and cakes to reach the items I was looking for - mainly drinks, laundry products and toilet rolls that I knew I could directly compare with Tesco's prices.
While most items I picked up were like-for-like, there were some where I had to buy the brand level equivalent, such as Costco's Finish dishwasher tablets compared with Tesco's Fairy.
With toilet roll - something that has shot up in price recently - I opted for the largest pack available in each store. While Tesco had a 30-pack of Cushelle for £13.50, Costco's Kirkland Signature 40-packs are selling for £16.18.
You get 240 sheets of three-ply per roll too, compared with 180 sheets of two-ply per roll with the Cushelle pack. It all sounds very dull doesn't it, but if you don't want to be throwing money down the toilet then it's worth taking note.
Judging by the fact three packs were snapped up by customers in the few minutes I was standing there, I'm sure I wasn't the only one thinking it was a pretty good deal.
And there were plenty more deals too. In fact almost every item I bought from Trafford Park's Costco was cheaper than Tesco, making its overall bill £103.96, a whopping £23.09 cheaper in fact.
It was only the cans of pop that worked out cheaper at Tesco - £7.50 for a 24-pack of 7UP compared with £11.63 for 24 cans of Diet Coke in Costco. While Diet Coke wasn't in Tesco's bulk buy aisle, its 24-pack would still have been cheaper at £10.
The only other items I bought that weren't specifically from Tesco's 'bulk buys' were Robinsons orange cordial and Coco Pops. They were exactly the same sizes and Costco was cheaper for both. The Robinsons was reduced with the retailer's Clubcard scheme, down from £3.50 a bottle to £2. Yet Costco's price - at £3.58 for a pack of two - still came in cheaper.
The tins of tuna were probably the hardest to compare as the pack sizes and products themselves differ. The nearest comparison we could find was Costco's 12-pack of John West tuna chunks with Tesco's 8-pack of Princes chunks. While the latter is in spring water, rather than brine, it works out a lot more expensive, at £9.45 for a equivalent 12-pack compared with Costco's £8.19.
There were lots more deals I didn't take advantage of in Costco, mainly because there's no bulk buy equivalent in Tesco. A 12-pack of Colgate toothpastes, on offer at £8.39 and a six-pack of Source shower gels - for £4.42 - were among the main ones to catch my eye.
Of course you have to factor in a membership fee for Costco at £33.60 a year, but that's less than £3 a month so it wouldn't take too long to claw it back and it's accessible to a lot more people than it used to be.
A list of professions from which current or retired employees can apply is listed here and members can add on a spouse for free, or get an extra card for £14 plus vat, so it shouldn't be too difficult to get your hands on one.
Given the number of Tescos there are compared with Costcos, it's always likely to be more accessible for shoppers however. And judging by the savings you can make in the bulk aisle, it's well worth taking a look next time you're there.
Full shopping list with prices Costco / Tesco
- Fairy non bio 4.5L £15.59 / £17
- Comfort fabric softener 5L £5.74 / £6.50
- Dishwasher tablets Finish/Fairy (2x100) £17.98 / £26.50
- Toilet rolls £16.18 for 40 / £13.50 for 30 (equivalent of £18 for 40)
- Tetley teabags £8.99 for 720 / £8 for 600 (equivalent of £9.60 for 720)
- Douwe Egberts coffee £10.89 / £11.50
- Robinsons orange juice £3.58 / £4 Clubcard
- Diet Coke / 7UP £11.63 / £7.50
- Kellogg's Coco Pops 2 x 720g £5.19 / £7
- Tuna £8.19 for 12x145g / £6.30 for 8x145g (equivalent of £9.45 for 12)
Total £103.96 / £127.05
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