Like millions of people feeling the cost of living squeeze, I've been forced to cut back on my expenses wherever and whenever possible. To save money on parking and fuel, I now take the bus to work and elsewhere around the city. If I'm travelling further afield, I visit the National Express website before Trainline. My usual daily supermarket meal deal has been ditched for a homemade packed lunch. And, instead of forking out a small fortune for a hot drink at a café, I take advantage of the free tea and coffee in the office (which does the job surprisingly well).
But despite my attempt to be more frugal, I've still found that grocery shopping is an unexpectedly high outgoing from my bank account every week. We all know by now the prices of everyday items have gone up, but it's still easy to mindlessly chuck stuff into the trolley without much thought. And, admittedly, it's hard to give up brands you've bought your entire life - Heinz, Walkers, Kellogg's, to name a few - in exchange for the suspiciously cheap supermarket own-brand or value range items.
It's also common knowledge that it's not only what you buy that matters, but where - with stark differences not only between supermarkets, but also between the different types of shops that certain supermarkets run. In fact, this difference is so stark for some that last month angry shoppers in Canton, Cardiff, pushed for a Tesco Express to be changed back to a Metro amid claims of rising prices and the loss of own brand products in-store.
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The branch of Tesco Express - one of two on Cowbridge Road East in Canton - became an Express supermarket last year. While Tesco Extra and Tesco Metro supermarkets were designed to cater for shoppers' larger, weekly shops, branches of Tesco Express are smaller, convenience stores and some shoppers say are also more expensive.
The change came after the supermarket giant announced a major overhaul of its stores across the UK in May 2021, with 147 Metro stores either being scrapped and becoming Express branches or revamped as new 'Superstores'. One of those stores was the former Metro supermarket which opened in the heart of Canton, near the Ivor Davies pub, in 1973.
Tesco said that research on customers' shopping habits found that nearly 70% of shoppers were using Metro branches as convenience stores, leading them to convert many of them into Express supermarkets. But, if the only local Tesco branches on Cowbridge Road East are now Express, are the concerns of the Canton residents valid? Could they really save a lot of money if their local branches were Tesco Extras instead?
To find out, I did the same shopping in Tesco Express on Cowbridge Road East - the one what changed from a Metro store last year - and Tesco Extra in Pengam Green. I set about finding the cheapest option I could find in each store for each particular item on my shopping list.
Though I knew the total at Express would be more, the difference was still surprising: exactly £3. I spent £20.15 in the Tesco Extra, versus £23.15 in the Tesco Express - a percentage increase of approximately 15%. If I solely did this shop in the Express store every week of the year, I'd be spending £156 more each year than if I did the same shopping in the Extra store.
Before I give an item-by-item breakdown of the receipts, there were a few differences to note. Firstly, every single item - regardless whether it was the exact same product, a different brand, or a higher weight - was cheaper in the Tesco Extra. Some of these price differences were just a couple of pennies, while others were more stark.
Among the latter were a mixed leaf salad bag (£1.50 in Express and £1.05 in Extra for the exact same bag), a pack of two boneless salmon fillets (£4.40 in Express v £4.09 in Extra for the exact same pack), a pack of three chicken breast fillets (£4.75 in Express vs £4.20 in Extra - the latter offering an extra 70g in weight despite the lower cost), and a 227g punnet of strawberries (£1.60 in Express v £1.19 in Extra).
Some of these differences were down to the fact the Extra store offered a budget option for certain items, while the Express store didn't. For instance, the aforementioned strawberries were cheaper in the Extra store because they were part of Tesco's 'Perfectly Imperfect' range (i.e. less aesthetically appealing fruit and veg), but you couldn't get these strawberries in the Express store I went to. Similarly, the cheapest option for cooked beetroot in the Express store was Tesco's own brand, but in the Extra store I could get a value brand - which was not only cheaper but also weighed 200g more.
While the Express store did have several budget options for products, it was clear when I explored the Extra store that it had more value ranges on offer. For instance, the cheapest tuna tin I could get at the Express store was Tesco's own brand, but in the Extra store they had the Stockwell & Co range, which was even cheaper. I didn't go for that in the end, though, as it was only with brine and I was looking for the cheapest option with sunflower oil.
Here is breakdown and direct comparison of both receipts. Each item is the cheapest I could find on the day in that store, and I've noted whether that item was identical or different in the stores.
Fresh fruit and vegetables
Strawberries (227g) - different
Tesco Express: Rosedene Farms - £1.60
Tesco Extra: Tesco Perfectly Imperfect strawberries - £1.19
Nectarines (four-pack) - identical
Tesco Express: Suntrail Farms - £1.25
Tesco Extra: Suntrail Farms - £1.19
Cooked beetroot - different
Tesco Express: Tesco steamed beetroot in vinegar (300g) - £1.10
Tesco Extra: Redmere Farms cooked beetroot (500g) - 85p
Mixed leaf salad bag (120g) - identical
Tesco Express: Tesco own brand - £1.50
Tesco Extra: Tesco own brand - £1.05
Store cupboard/tinned foods
Crisps (ready salted six-pack) - different
Tesco Express: Tesco own-brand ready salted crisps - £1.10
Tesco Extra: Stockwell & Co ready salted crisps - 85p
Honey (340g) - identical
Tesco Express: Stockwell & Co - 75p
Tesco Extra: Stockwell & Co - 72p
Tomato and chilli pesto (190g) - identical
Tesco Express: Tesco own brand - £1.25
Tesco Extra: Tesco own brand - £1.10
Digestive biscuits (400g) - identical
Tesco Express: Ms Molly's - 50p
Tesco Extra: Ms Molly's - 45p
Cous Cous (individual flavoured pack, 110g x 2) - identical
Tesco Express: Tesco own brand - 65p each
Tesco Extra: Tesco own brand - 55p each
Penne pasta (500g) - identical
Tesco Express: Hearty Food Co -35p
Tesco Extra: Hearty Food Co -32p
Tinned tuna chunks in sunflower oil (145g) - identical
Tesco Express: Tesco own brand - 95p
Tesco Extra: Tesco own brand - 85p
Tinned sweetcorn (325g) - identical
Tesco Express: The Grower's Harvest - 50p
Tesco Extra: The Grower's Harvest - 45p
Fridge foods
Reduced fat homous (200g) - identical
Tesco Express: Eastman's Deli Foods - 75p
Tesco Extra: Eastman's Deli Foods - 69p
Low-fat natural yoghurt (500g) - identical
Tesco Express: Creamfields- 50p
Tesco Extra: Creamfields - 45p
Fresh poultry and fish
Boneless salmon fillets (two-pack, 260g) - identical
Tesco Express: Tesco own brand - £4.40
Tesco Extra: Tesco own brand - £4.09
Chicken breast fillets (pack of three fillets) - different
Tesco Express: 580g pack - £4.75
Tesco Extra: 650g pack - £4.20
Total price at Tesco Express (including two 30p bags): £23.15
Total price at Tesco Extra (including two 30p bags): £20.15
A Tesco spokesperson said: “With household budgets under increasing pressure we are absolutely committed to helping our customers, by keeping a laser focus on the cost of the weekly shop. We work hard to ensure our customers get great value at Tesco, wherever they shop with us. Last year we extended Clubcard Prices so they are now also available across all of our Express stores, giving our Clubcard customers access to hundreds of extra savings.”
