Earlier this month, I received my Nectar card shopping summary from Sainsbury’s, and the results left me amazed. Over the past year, I had visited my local store a staggering 385 times.
Sainsbury’s ‘Check You Out’ initiative provides a detailed overview of your shopping habits via the Nectar app. It highlights your most frequently purchased items, total points earned, and even shows how you compare to other shoppers at your store. Given that my local Sainsbury’s is only five minutes away, I tend to shop daily rather than sticking to a weekly grocery trip, so my high visit count wasn’t entirely unexpected.
I also live near an Aldi, which I often visit as well. This made me curious—why do I keep choosing Sainsbury’s when Aldi generally offers lower prices and quality that’s just as good?
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The answer lay in the item I purchase most frequently at Sainsbury’s.
Surprisingly, I am the top customer in my town for one specific product: satsumas.
Shopping with my husband, who is a big fruit fan, explains a lot. I’ve watched him devour an entire bag of oranges, two containers of berries, and a bunch of apples in one sitting. He’s definitely the reason behind our regular satsuma purchases.
What sets Sainsbury’s fruit apart, in our opinion, is quality. While I occasionally pick up blueberries or apples from Aldi, my husband finds their quality inferior, and I tend to agree. Although pricier, Sainsbury’s fruit offers better flavor, texture, and stays fresh longer in the fridge.
Of course, this is all based on personal taste and experience.
That said, there’s one product category where Aldi wins hands down for me: bakery goods.
Last year, Aldi opened an in-store bakery, and it quickly became the busiest section in the store. The smell of freshly baked bread and pastries greets you immediately, making it hard to resist grabbing a pain au chocolat, Portuguese custard tart, or sourdough loaf. I often find myself buying a caramel-filled doughnut on the way to the checkout.
Not everyone can shop around easily, but if you can, it’s worth exploring different stores to find better deals, discounts, and quality where it counts.
The takeaway from my surprising shopping spree? While I might consider cutting down my trips to Sainsbury’s to save money, I’m definitely sticking to them for my fruit.