Waitrose is part of the John Lewis Partnership which has an enviable reputation for quality. They do not try to grab the headlines with price-cuts the way other supermarkets do and other than Christmas advertising, you don't often see or hear them advertising their price cuts or everyday low prices on the telly, so it's easy to assume that Waitrose is expensive...
However... the reality is that Waitrose regularly check the price of selected everyday items we all tend to buy such as bread, milk, toothpaste, etc., against those in other supermarkets to make sure they’re offering consistent good value for money.
They also run a Price Commitment Promise to offer quality food that is honestly priced and good value for money. In store you will find a large range of Waitrose Essential products, items on offer as Every Day Value and loads of products marked as New Lower Prices.
Prices locally here in Guernsey are typically priced slightly higher than Waitrose stores in the UK for example £1.40 for a 1kg bag of pasta in the UK compared to £1.52 in Guernsey, but with the additional costs of shipping etc., I guess that’s to be expected.
That said, we have also found several products on the Guernsey Waitrose supermarket shelves that have been priced LOWER than the same product at Waitrose UK stores, so it's not always safe to assume that we pay more here in Guernsey.
If you haven't visited a Waitrose store recently, you may well be pleasantly surprised.
Here's our top SuperSavvy money saving tips for shopping at Waitrose...
1. Become a myWaitrose member!
First thing you need to do is become a myWaitrose member! It's free, quick and easy and comes with loads of benefits...
Reasons to become a myWaitrose member -
· Get a Free myWaitrose membership card
· Access to your online myWaitrose account
· Receive Free weekly money-saving vouchers
· Receive a Free hot drink every time you shop in store
· Receive Free magazines
· Enter exclusive Waitrose competitions
You can become a member for FREE here - https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/my-waitrose/become-a-member.
2. Use ScanPayGo
You can collect a ScanPayGo handset at the entrance to the store. As you walk in you will see the handsets on the wall. To release a handset, you simply scan the barcode on your myWaitrose membership card, or scan your card using the myWaitrose App on your mobile phone. The handset will flash green when released so you know which one to take.
The ScanPayGo handset is really useful for checking prices as you shop. It will also make a beeping noise if the product you scanned is an offer such as Buy 2 for £5 etc., so you'll never miss out on an offer!
If you scan a product then decide not to buy, you can simply delete the item on your handset and carry on with your shop so it's really useful for price checking as you go around the store.
And of course the ultimate benefit of using ScanPayGo is that you can pack your own bags as you shop, there is no need to pull everything out of your trolley to go through the checkout, you simply zap your handset at the Quick Check, pay for your items, and off you go! Unless of course you get stopped for a re-scan - which does happen. Just take a deep breath and roll with it!
Remember to also scan your weekly money off vouchers! (further information about your personalised vouchers below).
💡 TIP! Did you know you can also check out through the main check-out tills instead of going through the Quick Check area… just hand your handset to the till assistant!
3. Download the Waitrose App to your mobile phone.
Having the myWaitrose App on your phone is super useful! You can view your weekly vouchers (updated every Wednesday) and choose and select your vouchers whilst you're in the store.
You can also access your myWaitrose membership card from your phone through the myWaitrose App, so there's no need to carry around the plastic card!
Another feature of the myWaitrose App is ScanPayGo. This is very similar to using the ScanPayGo handsets that you can collect as you walk in to the store (as mentioned above), but instead of using the handset, you can use your mobile phone.
You can download the myWaitrose App from the App Store or Google Play.
4. Essential Waitrose Range
If you're not yet already aware, Waitrose offer a large selection of own branded everyday grocery items and household products within their Essential Waitrose range. The prices are really good and the products are fabulous!
You can expect to pay as little as £1.27 for 80 tea bags, 83p for a bag of pasta (500g), £1.43 for a bag of rice (500g), £2.31 for 1 litre bottle of vegetable oil and £1.43 for 6 eggs.
“As well as lowering the prices of hundreds of products, we’re also passing on additional savings to our customers when the prices we pay fall due to food inflation dropping. We’ve already lowered the prices of dairy products, household goods like toilet paper, and canned vegetables as a result of inflation falling on those items.”
You can save a lot of money on your weekly shop by switching to store own brands and the Waitrose Essential range is really good and excellent value!
5. New Lower Prices!
Waitrose have also lowered their prices on hundreds of everyday grocery items and household essentials throughout their stores. They've also lowered their prices on over two hundred of their own Essential Waitrose brand products... where else can you buy a pack of custard creams for 45p?!
6. Use your weekly vouchers wisely!
Every week you can choose two vouchers to use in store as part of your myWaitrose membership. The vouchers are updated in your myWaitrose account on a Wednesday and they are often personalised based on items that you have previously purchased.
So, the more you use your myWaitrose member card, the more useful your vouchers will become. If you’re a new myWaitrose customer, it may be several weeks until you start receiving your personalised vouchers.
Most of the vouchers (or coupons as they're known on the till checkout) usually offer around 50p off a certain item, but you will often receive vouchers for higher money off amounts.
Because the vouchers are often based on what you've previously purchased, if you regularly buy a higher priced product, the chances are your vouchers will offer you a higher discount on that product. For instance, we often buy packs of 16 x Waitrose Essential Toilet Rolls priced at just over £7 per pack and we now regularly receive a weekly voucher with £1.50 off per pack. So for something we need to buy anyway, it's nice to get the £1.50 discount!
Likewise, we often purchase the larger packs of 1.2kg of chicken as it's cheaper. I regularly bulk buy and bulk cook so we always have plenty of meals in the freezer, but that's a whole other blog post...! Because we've bought the 1.2kg chicken packs several times now, the vouchers have started to pop up offering £2 off. Bargain 👍
It's important to note that personalised vouchers are single use only. Any savings applied to your shop from a voucher will not save you money on multiples of that product purchased.
How to Redeem your vouchers
At the supermarket checkout, use the myWaitrose App on your mobile phone and select 'View Vouchers'. Select the voucher you want to use. You will then be able to select the option to ‘Use now in store’ on your chosen voucher. This will display a barcode on your mobile phone which you need to scan.
You can either hand your phone with the bar code to the till assistant or if you're using the Quick Check, before selecting 'Pay Now' select the 'Coupon' option. It will ask you to scan the code... just hold your phone up to the scanner and it will beep when it has recognised the barcode. If you want to use a second voucher, simply select the 'Coupon' option again and repeat the process. If you have any issues at the Quick Check, or you're not sure what to do, just ask one of the partners who are happy to help.
7. Look out for Big Brand Offers & Deals!
Many big brand names offer supermarkets reduced rates to help promote their products in their stores. Their aim is to hook you in with a reduced price but you'll love it so much that you'll want to buy it again! And it often works, which is why big brands continue to offer the deals. You will often see the likes of Persil, Fairy, Bold, Finish, Walkers, McVities, Coca-Cola, KP, Heinz, John West, to name but a few... regularly featured on the offers and deals shelves.
Waitrose ALWAYS have offers and deals on across their stores on big brand names. You can often find the likes of washing liquids, detergents and tabs, toiletries, coffee pods, cereals, ketchup, mayonnaise, crisps, chocolate bars and tuna.
Deals are often placed on the end of the aisles, so be sure to take a look at the end of aisle deals whilst you're in store to see what's currently on offer. We often buy 2 to see us through to the next time the offer is on.
8. Look out for the Meal Deals!
Waitrose often run Meal Deals where you can purchase a few items all included within a set price. You usually save a few quid on these deals. They regularly run the Stir Fry Meal Deal for 2 priced at £7 where you can choose 4 items including a protein (chicken, beef, prawns, pork or tofu), a Veg (selection of stir fry veg bags) a Sauce (choose from a selection of Wagamama and itsu sauces), plus a pack of rice or noddles.
They also regularly offer a £5 Meal to Go lunch meal deal that includes 3 items - a Main, a Snack and a Drink. There are lots of Main options to choose from including sandwich, wraps, salad, sushi, pasta etc.. The snack options include crisps, fruit, chocolate and muesli bars and the likes and there's a whole range of drinks available.
Other Waitrose Meal Deals include Dine in for 2, Steakhouse for 2, Indian Meal Deal for 2, Fresh Pasta Meal Deal and others pop up all the time. Seasonal Meal Deals can also be found around Valentine's Day, Easter and Christmas.
9. Look out for the Multi-Buy Deals!
There are always LOADS of multi-buy offers available throughout Waitrose stores. This is of course to try to get you to buy more, but it does tend to get you the best price. You should only buy the multi-buy deals if you know for sure that you will use the products. If it's fresh food for instance, you can use one for dinner and freeze the other two. Or bulk cook a big pot of your favourite meal, then portion up for the freezer - your own homemade ready meals!
10. Look out for the Yellow Labels!
Waitrose 'reduced to clear' yellow label items are generally found throughout the day, although the biggest price reductions tend to be around 2 hours before the store is due to close. It's up to individual stores what time they reduce their items and Waitrose tend to go for a slight price reduction earlier in the day with 50% (sometimes more) off later in the evening. You just need to hit the shop at the right time to find the yellow labels! Keep an eye on our Facebook page as we regularly post when we see the yellow labels in-store.
Remember you can always freeze items you're not going to use straight away, so if you know you have room in the freezer, stock up when you find those reduced to clear bargains!
11. Get your Free Coffee!
As part of your myWaitrose membership you're entitled to a FREE hot drink with any in store purchase! You will need to take your own cup though (you can purchase a re-usable coffee cup at Waitrose).
Waitrose have partnered with the Nero Roasting Company to offer coffee made with Rainforest Alliance Certified beans, using Nero's coffee roasting and blending expertise. The free hot drinks offer includes Americanos, Lattes and Cappuccinos. Tea is also available.
Don't forget to grab yours the next time you visit the store!
12. Collect your FREE monthly magazines!
Another perk of having a myWaitrose membership is that you're entitled to collect a Waitrose Food magazine for Free every month.
The Waitrose magazines are packed with inspirational recipes and articles from the world's best chefs and food writers.
Don't forget to pick up yours the next time you visit the store!
13. Buy a slice of cake for just £1.50! 🍰 ☕️
And if all that's not enough to make you want to become a myWaitrose member, you can grab yourself a slice of cake for just £1.50 from the Waitrose cafe at Rohais or Admiral Park when you purchase any hot drink. Bargain!
14. Win yourself a Prize!
As part of your MyWaitrose membership, you can enter exclusive member only prize draws and competitions on the Waitrose members website. You need to be logged in to see the details. They are free to enter but do check the Terms & Conditions as not all are open to Channel Island residents.
Enter Waitrose free competitions here -https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/content/competitions or enter via the App.
