Poor families miss out on budget ranges at big chains’ smaller shops, says Which?

Thirty of the 35 convenience stores Which? visited did not have in stock any of the budget-range items on its list. Photograph: Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty

Low-income families are missing out on the chance to pick up supermarkets’ lowest-priced essentials as fewer than 1% of the leading chains’ smaller stores stock them, according to a study.

The consumer group Which? dispatched mystery shoppers to hunt for a list of about 30 items under the cut-price own-label ranges in Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda and Morrisons stores, including apples, beef mince, tinned tomatoes, rice and instant coffee.