10 Tesco secrets revealed including its Aldi price match and the best time to shop
FROM its Aldi price match promise to finding the best time to shop, we reveal ten Tesco tips.
Tesco is the largest supermarket chain in the UK with more than 3,700 stores.
But whether you’re a casual or loyal shopper, there are ways to make your money go further.
Tesco stores are allowed to remain open during the coronavirus pandemic because supermarkets are classed as essential.
You can find down your nearest shop by using its store locator tool.
How to cut the cost of your grocery shop
MONEY.CO.UK has shared some top tips with us to help you keep your supermarket spend down to a minimum.
- Write yourself a list – Only buy items that you need. If it isn’t on your list, don’t put it in the trolley
- Create a budget – Work out a weekly budget for your food shopping
- Never shop hungry – You are far more likely to buy more food if your tummy is rumbling
- Don’t buy pre-chopped veggies or fruit – The extra they’ll charge for chopping can be eye watering
- Use social media – Follow your favourite retailers to find out about the latest deals
- Be disloyal – You may want to go to different stores to find the best bargains
- Check the small print – It’s always worth checking the price per kg/lb/litre when comparing offers so you’re making a like for like decision as a bigger box won’t necessarily mean you get more
- Use your loyalty cards – Don’t be afraid to sign up to them all. They all work slightly differently – work out what bonus suits you better and remember to trade in your points for additional rewards
1. Tesco price matches Aldi on hundreds of items
You may assume Aldi is always cheaper, but Tesco has price matched hundreds of products.
The items that are matched against Aldi include cupboard staples, own-brand and branded goods.
Products will be marked with a red Aldi price match sticker, and are available online as well as in store.
But to make it even easier to find these items, type in “Aldi price match” on the Tesco website and the supermarket will bring up every product that is the same price or cheaper.
Naomi Willis, co-founder of Skint Dad, told The Sun: “It’s not just branded foods, but Tesco discount their own brand products too.
“Look for the Aldi Price Match sticker when you’re shopping in store or online.”
2. Find the best time to shop by using Google
“Popular times” is a feature on Google that gives you a good indication of how busy a store is.
It’s broken down hour-by-hour for every day of the week and gives data in real time and typical busy times.
To use the tool, start off by Googling your nearest Tesco in the “maps” section of the search engine.
Scroll down past the opening hours and you’ll see the “popular times” graph, which is made up of blue bars.
The higher the blue bar, the more customers are usually shopping in your chosen store at that time.
It’ll also show a pink bar to represent how many customers Google believes to be in the store right now.
What is Tesco Clubcard and Tesco Clubcard Plus?
TESCO shoppers can sign up for free to its Clubcard loyalty scheme.
Through the Clubcard programme, shoppers earn points every time they shop – these points can later be exchanged for money-off vouchers.
For every £1 you spend, you’ll earn one Clubcard point.
You need to collect a minimum of 150 points to turn your balance into vouchers. This will give you £1.50 in vouchers.
After that, every 50 points turns into 50p worth of vouchers.
The other advantage of being a Clubcard member is that you’ll get access to member-only discounts in stores and online.
These are branded as “Clubcard prices”.
What is Clubcard Plus?
Clubcard Plus is the premium version of the original loyalty scheme – with this you’ll pay £7.99 a month, or £95.88 a year.
But benefits include
Members will get benefits 10% two in-store food shops each month, as well as 10% off selected Tesco brands including F&F, Fred & Flo, Go Cook, Tesco Pet, Carousel, and Fox & Ivy.
Plus if you’re a Tesco Mobile customer, you’ll get double the data offered on your plan for free.
3. Check out little-known weekly offers
Tesco has little-known weekly offers on its website and in stores called “Weekly Little Helps”.
As the name suggests, these deals change each week and can include both food and home products.
For example, at the moment Tesco has packs of eight Richmond sausages for £2 and ten sachets of Quaker Oats porridge for £2.75.
Annoyingly, Tesco doesn’t say what the original price of these items was – but Weekly Little Helps can be as much as 50% off.
It’s still best to compare prices to make sure you’re getting the cheapest deal.
We’ve asked Tesco if it can confirm what day of the week these offers change and we’ll update this article.
4. Tesco has an eBay outlet with up to 60% off
Tesco fans might be surprised to know that it has its own eBay outlet store where you can save almost 60% on toys, homeware and tech.
The little-known shop has discounts on both new and refurbished items, having been launched in 2018 following the closure of the Tesco Direct website.
Refurbished items are usually products which have been returned by customers.
Crucially, the offers you’ll find on the eBay page won’t be available in stores – but as they’re online only, you’ll need to pay for delivery.
Postage costs vary depending on what you buy.
The offers are also only available as long as stocks last, so it’s best to act quick if you spot a deal.
5. Look out for yellow stickers for reduced items
Yellow stickers are slapped on reduced items when they’ve been damaged or are close to their use-by date.
If you have a big freezer at home, and the food can be frozen, then you could save money by stocking up on discounted goods.
There are no hard and fast rules when yellow sticker items will appear when it comes to Tesco.
Some big stores start reductions at 8am, while others don’t start until early evening.
Your best bet is to take note of when the reductions usually happen and try to do your shopping at this time.
Naomi says she has the best luck finding yellow stickers just before stores close.
She said: “Head to stores toward the end of the day. It’s best to check after 8pm, or 30 minutes before they close, for discounts of 50% or more.”
Tesco previously told us the amount a product can be reduced by varies between stores.
However, the discount will increase over the course of the final day an item is on sale before it expires.
6. There are FREE coupons in the Tesco magazine
Pick up a free Tesco magazine next time you’re in store and you’ll find three to six coupons.
The free magazine is usually found behind the tills in larger shops.
Money blogger Jordon Cox, who is known as Britain’s Coupon Kid, said there’s nothing stopping you stocking up on the vouchers.
He said: “If you see something you like – you can rip it out and use it straight away.
“And as the magazine is free, you can pick more than one up, or use it each time you head in.”
7. Check down the world foods aisle for cheaper products
The world foods aisle can be a good place to save money on tins, herbs and spices.
In fact, MoneySavingExpert research carried out in 2017 and again in 2018 found some items were up to 80% cheaper compared to own-brand goods.
However, not all Tesco stores have a world foods aisle – it’ll usually only be larger stores.
Jordon said: “Don’t disregard the world foods aisle if your Tesco has one.
“One example is oyster sauce. The standard Lee Kum Kee name brand is £2.75 for a 255g bottle – but a Thailand import is only £1.50 for a 350g bottle, meaning you get more for less.”
8. Use this shelf label trick to find out when offers end
If something is on offer, you can tell when it’ll go back to full price by checking the shelf label.
Each label will have a code, which is actually just the end date of the offer printed backwards.
The last two digits are the day the offer ends, the middle two digits are the month, and the first two digits are the year.
For example, “210120” would be 20/01/21 meaning the offer ends on January 20, 2021.
Naomi explained: “It’s just the date printed backwards, but it can help you decide if you want to buy something now, or if you can hold off a week.”
9. Use barcode scanners to find hidden bargains
Bargain hunter and self-confessed coupon queen Holly Smith has revealed how she saves hundreds of pounds by using scanners in stores.
Scanners work by letting you check the barcode of items in store to see if they’ve been reduced.
At Tesco, its handheld scanners are found at the front of larger stores – it doesn’t have a mobile app for its scanners like B&M.
You’ll also need to be a member of Tesco’s free Clubcard loyalty scheme to use the devices.
Mum-of-two Holly – who runs her Coupon Queen website – recommends Tesco for outdoor toys, tents, and seasonal products.
She said: “Scanners are great for finding reduced to clear bargains.
“I once found a Disney princess doll for 2p.”
10. How to earn extra Clubcard points
Recycling your old ink cartridge could earn you up to 125 extra Clubcard points.
How many points you’ll get depends on the make and model of your cartridge.
See The Recycling Factory for more information.
Alternatively, Holly says she boosts her Clubcard points by filling in “customer satisfaction surveys” – to do this, you’ll need to find your unique number on the back of your Tesco receipt.
She said: “For this you will earn 25 Clubcard points and be entered into a prize draw to win £1,000 worth of Tesco vouchers.”
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