How To Save Money with mySupermarket

Editor's note: this blog post was originally written in July 2014 and has since been updated for clarity and with the latest information. Enjoy!

Do you spend hours at the computer comparing items like for like on various supermarket websites, trying to get the best deals?

What if we told you there was an easier way to make savings on your online food shop?

We've found the perfect site for you...

What is mySupermarket?

mySupermarket is a price comparison site for groceries.

While we all normally have a  supermarket of choice, there's a good chance that you could be getting the same for less elsewhere.

That's where mySupermarket comes in! They do the legwork finding the best deals so that you don't have to, saving you both money and time.

What shops does mySupermarket compare?

Basically any UK supermarket you can think of:

• Tesco
• Sainsbury's
• ASDA
• Waitrose
• Poundland
• Iceland
• Aldi
• Lidl
• M&S

They also have lifestyle brands like Boots and Superdrug on board, so mySupermarket can be used even if you're just doing a toiletry shop.

How does mySupermarket work?

Shopping with mySupermarket couldn't be easier:

1. Pick your supermarket and fill your basket. Shop from your regular shopping list, browse the tabs or from the recommended offers page. Just how you normally online shop!
2. See your savings (or where you could be saving more). Prices are compared for individual items as well as your basket total.
3. Swap as you please. You can change your supermarket around at any point to make sure that you're getting the best value for your money.
4. Checkout. Book your online delivery slot by clicking through on mySupermarket, or make a list of the products you've selected and pop to the shop yourself.

Putting this into practice...

I chose to shop and compare for three staple items: milk, bread and eggs. I put in my usual supermarket (Sainsbury's) and here are the results...

The cost for these 3 items was £4.10, not too bad I thought.

But there seemed to savings elsewhere...

Notoriously pricey Waitrose came out as cheaper, with a saving of 75p. Not much, but every little does help and this is only a small basket.

mySupermarket swapped two items, the eggs and the bread. The eggs were still free-range and the bread was still 50/50, so that was fine with me!

However, it didn't stop there. Aldi came out on top with a basket total of just £2.48:

All three items were of the same size and substance as the ones that I'd originally selected, but with a whopping saving of £1.62. 

Seeing as this was just a small basket of three items, you can imagine the sorts of savings you'd get on a full weekly shop.

In fact, mySupermarket estimate that you save 30% on every shop that you do with them.

Other benefits to mySupermarket

Money saving isn't the only benefit to mySupermarket (although it is probably the biggest one):

• By using mySupermarket you're less likely to pick up items that you don't need, as you tend to stick to a list and aren't tempted by offers/sweet treats in the aisles. Saving money and your waistline!
• If you end up using an online delivery service then you will save on petrol/transport to the supermarket.
• mySupermarket provides useful health information about the products you've chosen, such as the amount of salt, saturated fat and sugar. These are colour-coded making it easier for you to make healthier choices.
• It's completely unbiased and is 100% independent from all supermarkets, so you know that you're getting the best value for your money.

It's up to you how you shop...

You can either order online through the supermarket's website (if they do online deliveries) or you can write down your shopping list and pop down to the shops yourself. Whichever's easiest for you!

It's important to take this into consideration while using mySupermarket. Even if Aldi has the best value for money for your shopping, is it really a saving if the nearest Aldi is 20 miles away?

Conclusion

1. mySupermarket is easy to use (it feels just like regular online food shopping) and the health information on the side makes it much easier to make healthier choices.
2. It makes you more aware of the savings that are out there and savvier to deals.
3. Plus, you might get to explore new supermarket territory!

Do you use mySupermarket? If so, what are your thoughts? Get in touch!

Alex x