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Manchester Evening News

Entertainment

Emma Gill

'I went back to B&M, Home Bargains and Quality Save and was staggered'

Home Bargains Quality Save BM (Organization) Heinz Manchester Family

We all know how much food prices have risen during the cost of living crisis, but it's not the only hike shoppers have had to contend with.

An increase in everything from energy bills to manufacturing and transport costs means that most of what we buy has gone up over the last few years.

Toiletries are no exception and, unlike some luxury food and drink items which can sometimes be cut back on, many are essential, leaving customers with no other option than to swallow the hikes.

To see exactly how much products have gone up, I repeated a toiletry shop from around the start of the cost of living crisis, in November 2021, at budget stores B&M, Home Bargains and Quality Save.

I knew that the products I usually buy had crept up over recent times, but I was staggered by just how much they have climbed.

One in particular, Soft & Gentle deodorant, is up by more than 30% at all three stores.

My same shop from the budget retailers back in 2021 (Manchester Family / MEN)

When I did the original shop around 15 months ago, a 250ml canister of the stuff was £1.29. Now the same product - albeit in new packaging - is £1.69. You can occasionally pick up the old one for £1.49 but stock is dwindling.

And that's not the only big rise.

Every store has hiked the price of Total Original toothpaste too. A 75ml tube of the stuff has gone from £1.49 to £1.75 in B&M and from £1.49 to £1.99 in Quality Save and Home Bargains - that's an increase of 34%.

Elvive shampoo and conditioner has gone from £1.99 to £2.25 a bottle at each of the stores, a 13% hike, and they've all put the price of 250ml bottles of Carex hand soap up by 20% and Original Source shower gel by 11%.

Overall its B&M that works out cheapest for the toiletries, with a bill of £11.14.

B&M works out cheapest for the toiletries (Manchester Family/MEN)

The other two, now part of the same company after Quality Save was taken over by Home Bargains earlier this year, both work out as the most expensive, with an 18% increase taking the bill from £9.64 to £11.35.

A spokesperson for B&M said: “B&M is an everyday low-price retailer. We remain committed to providing our customers with low prices and great value on a huge variety of everyday products.”

Home Bargains and Quality Save were both approached for a comment.

The shopping list for each store - was price Nov 2021 / March 2023 (% increase)