Affordable Food For All

Since then, more than 113,000 people have signed our petition urging supermarkets to take action. As a result, two major supermarkets have committed to helping people who rely on convenience stores by increasing the availability of budget ranges in these stores.

• Morrisons and Sainsbury’s introduced dozens of budget-range items at hundreds of their convenience stores nationwide. 
• Tesco also introduced over 50 cheaper alternative products at thousands of its convenience stores. 
• The government has vowed to make unit pricing on groceries clearer by changing the law. 
• The Competition and Markets Authority has announced an inquiry into loyalty pricing after Which? research found that not all loyalty card deals are as good as they seem.
• Tesco will now display unit pricing on Clubcard offers both online and in-store, which will help their customers compare prices and find the best deal. 

We expect supermarkets to go further for shoppers as high food prices continue to hit consumers. Expanding access to budget-range options that support healthy choices in smaller stores would allow millions to make savings by switching to cheaper products. 

Supermarkets must also respond quickly to come into line with new government rules around unit pricing, to ensure that they’re doing everything they can to help their customers find the best deal. They should also take stock of the Competition and Markets Authority’s ongoing investigation into loyalty pricing, and work to address any concerns the regulator may have. 

Which?’s own Harry Kind went to a couple of convenience stores in Peterborough to investigate first-hand the difference it makes to your wallet when you have access to budget lines for a weekly shop

Supermarkets should urgently stock budget line items across their convenience stores, prioritising areas most in need. These should be:

• Wide-ranging: Have a sufficient range of essential budget items on offer that support a healthy diet
• Affordable: Prices that make a real difference to people’s pockets
• Easy to find: Consistently available and easy to spot in store
  
  

Our research reveals low-cost food ranges are not available to lower-income households relying on small supermarkets.

1. Make unit pricing prominent, legible and consistent in-store and online so price comparisons are easy across different brands and sizes of packaging.

2. Provide clear unit pricing for promotional offers in-store and online so that people can work out whether they really are the best deal.

3. Provide a basic range of essential budget lines for affordable as well as healthy everyday choices that are available across stores, but particularly in locations where people most need support.

4. Consider adapting minimum spend requirements and other ways that online deliveries can be more cost-effective to increase options for households in areas with poor supermarket access.

5. Tailor marketing budgets and promotions, including through loyalty cards, vouchers and other offers, to support people where they are most likely to be struggling.

6. Promote the uptake of the Healthy Start and Best Start foods scheme, with a particular focus on the priority local areas where there is a low level of uptake.

7. Provide additional support or ‘top ups’ where people are able to be identified as in particular need – for example linking them to the healthy start or best start foods schemes and other targeted promotions.

8. Offer straightforward price reductions rather than multi-buy offers that require a bigger initial spend, may lead to more food waste and can make it more difficult to eat healthily.

9. Make available more promotions for healthy and sustainable foods, including fruit and vegetables, building on evidence of where promotions drive effective outcomes (eg. 60p fruit and vegetables).

10. Underpin these actions by promotions, recipes and advice that make lower priced, healthy and sustainable foods tasty and appealing to the breadth of communities that are served.