I was shocked to find out I had visited Sainsbury’s 385 times last year, and there’s one reason I keep going back
Earlier this month, I was taken aback when my Nectar card shopping summary from Sainsbury’s revealed that I had made a staggering 385 visits to my local store last year. The ‘Check you out’ campaign offers a personalised review of the previous year’s shopping habits via the Nectar app, spotlighting most-purchased items, total points accrued, and rankings specific to your store.
Given that I live a mere five minutes away from my local shop, my round-up wasn’t too surprising as I tend to make daily purchases rather than doing a weekly shop.
I also reside near an Aldi store, which I frequent regularly. This led me to wonder… why do I persistently return to Sainsbury’s when my Aldi shops are typically cheaper, and the quality is on par?
The answer lies in what I usually buy most from Sainsbury’s, reports the Express.
I was astonished to discover that I was the top purchaser of a specific item in my town: Satsumas.
Just for clarity, my husband, who adores fruit, often accompanies me on these shopping trips. He has been known to polish off an entire bag of oranges, two punnets of berries, and a couple of apples in one go.
So, it’s likely that he’s the reason we stock up on so many satsumas. However, I realised that the reason we consistently choose Sainsbury’s over Aldi for our fruit purchases is down to the quality.
While at Aldi, I might pick up the occasional punnet of blueberries or some apples for my husband, but he maintains that the quality isn’t as high, and I’m inclined to agree.
While pricier, Sainsbury’s fruit generally boasts superior flavour and texture, and keeps considerably longer in the fridge. This is purely my own personal taste, experience and preferences.
That said, there’s one product I exclusively purchase from Aldi as it’s more affordable and, in my view, of higher quality than Sainsbury’s: bakery goods.
Last year, our local Aldi branch launched a fresh bakery section, and I’ve never seen the store so packed. The aroma of freshly baked bread and pastries wafts through the entrance, tempting shoppers to snap up pain au chocolat, Portuguese custard tarts and sourdough loaves.
Even now, I still struggle to avoid picking up a caramel-filled doughnut en route to the till.
Not everyone can afford the privilege of shopping around for products, but if you’re able to, you can frequently discover better bargains, yellow sticker reductions and superior quality goods.
The key lesson I’ve taken from these eye-watering figures is I should probably shop less frequently at Sainsbury’s and more at Aldi to cut costs. But I’ll continue popping to Sainsbury’s for my fruit.
