Knowing how to decode these digits could help shoppers save money
People on the lookout for bargains when doing their weekly food shop will be all too familiar with price labels that indicate when items are part of a temporary sale. Reduced prices change so often in supermarkets, but codes hidden in plain sight may help savvy shoppers stay ahead of price hikes.
Major retailers, including Tesco, Sainsbury’s , and Waitrose, all use different methods on their tags to signal reductions. Staff may be aware of what these random codes mean, but shoppers aren’t always privy to the information.
Knowing exactly what these seemingly random numbers mean can give shoppers insight into how long an offer will be in place. People can try something for less than normal and, if they like it, know exactly when they need to stock up before the price increase.
Consumer watchdog Which? claimed that these three supermarkets often have deals on a variety of household essentials that rotate often to keep prices competitive. Most reductions will rely on customers being signed up to some sort of loyalty scheme to begin with.
Tesco has its free-to-join Clubcard scheme, whilst Sainsbury’s slashes prices with its Nectar programme, which also works on purchases made with Esso, Argos and British Airways. Waitrose offers its deals to all shoppers without requiring them to be part of any loyalty scheme.
Whilst Tesco often shares exact dates on its app about the end date of promotions, it can be a faff getting the item up online whilst shopping in-store. Instead, the date is often right in front of shoppers when decoding the fine print on each label.
A shopping specialist claimed that the “jumble” of numbers actually spells out the date when deals end, but it can look like nothing to shoppers at first glance. Reading the backwards string of numbers reveals the exact date when items will go back to full price from being discounted.
In the example shown on Instagram, a jar of curry sauce was on offer (down from £2.55 to £1.75 with a Clubcard scanned at checkout). The code read “250121”, which converted to January 21, 2025.
This is not the only subtle way shops keep track of discount deadlines. The clip shows stores like Waitrose being “a little more upfront” with a small date and month displayed on store labels.
Sainsbury’s was flagged for having a date on its discount labels, but this may confuse shoppers as it only shows when deals started, and not how long they have left. Which? did share that the supermarket typically ends its offers on Tuesdays.
In other supermarket news, Which? also shared on its website that there’s another trick to decode the store’s labels for the best quality fruit and vegetables. Some chains have removed ‘best before’ dates from products to try to reduce food waste.
Writing in a guide on its website, a Which? spokesperson said: “At Asda and Tesco, look for a letter followed by a number. ‘A’ is January, ‘B’ is February, ‘C’ is March and so on, while the number is the day of the month. For example, the best-before date of an item with the code ‘I27’ is September 27.
“Sainsbury’s codes begin with ‘J’ and end with ‘S’, standing for J Sainsbury, and contain the date in the middle. So the best-before date of an item with the code ‘J0910S’ is October 9.”
