Supermarkets in the UK

[Vice Admiral]

Sainsbury’s have been talking to Morrison’s about a possible takeover.  The talks have ended, but pundits take the view that some consolidation in the UK supermarket sector remains likely.  A few years ago, Sainsbury’s discussed a merger with Asda, but that also came to nothing.

Both Asda and Morrisons have become chains without much point to them.  They’re owned by Private Equity and burdened with debt, which makes it difficult for them to invest in improvements or price competitiveness.

I almost never go to either.   My “loyalties” (!) are generally divided between Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Lidl and Aldi – but I happened to go into Asda Havant a few weeks ago.  It’s the size of an aircraft hangar, but it’s hopeless.  Half the things I wanted seemed either to be out of stock or they didn’t sell anyway.  But there were enough Kellogg's Crunchy Nut Cornflakes to feed an army.

More generally, we often forget how incredibly privileged and lucky we are to have these amazing shops.  Those of us who are part of the older contingent on this site can remember when the biggest supermarkets were no larger than the branch of an average Farmfoods* today, and the range was pitiful by today’s standards.  (“Eden Vale yoghourt!  Wow!   Now there’s something new and ground-breaking!")

Think if you took Julius Caesar or Henry VIII into a Tesco super-store.  They’d reward you with an earldom.

(*Hands up anyone who ever shops at Farmfoods.  Thought not.)

[Nomerzypuntr]

Farmfoods : eggs, milk

Lidl : vegetables, fruits, chicken, fish, bakery, cleaning supplies (household)

Asda : kitchen utensils

Home Bargains : Personal care products (appreciate how they maintain the shop, always smell nice, clean and tidy)

Primark : clothes

Superdrug : Skincare products

02 : bought iPhone, I hate this sim, worst sim ever I will cancel the sim after my phone EMI ends.

If I stop punting, can go to river island JD and other expensive shops for shopping can buy things without looking their price tag

[Mr Garmin]

I'm old enough to remember Kwik Save.  Great place, they wheeled out pallets of cardboard boxes and cut them open and you picked your shopping.

As a child I was dispatched to the village to visit at least 7 or 8 shops for different items.  I took my shopping bag for life of course.

I was fascinated at how the cashier slammed away at the register her fingers moving like lightening and seemingly knowing the prices of everything in the shop in her head.

They say that memory has a smell and colour and I can remember the 'emotions' of the shiny new decimal currency like it was yesterday.

[Stevelondon]

I have heard of these shops. I’ve overheard the staff talking about them.

Joking of course 

But I have seen some of these places on my way to Waitrose and M&S.

[Mr Garmin]

I have heard of these shops. I’ve overheard the staff talking about them.

Joking of course 

But I have seen some of these places on my way to Waitrose and M&S.

I had you down as an Arrods man

[The0neAnd0nly]

Really miss a Wilkinsons. Always got my toiletries from there as well as things like paint, buckets, mops etc. Now have to get the same stuff much more expensive from Asda /  Tesco.

[timsussex]

Farmfoods - excellent frozen food always have a couple of their readymeals in the freezer for times when I really cant be bothered to cook
Lidl - their Delux range is better than Tesco and the store is mainly food  no TVs, clothes etc Their Xmas range of cakes and biscuits is superb

[PilotMan]

Tesco for fresh food and some non perishables, and Amazon for almost everything else. A lot of stuff on subscribe and save is cheaper than Tesco. I had 577 orders on Amazon last year, although that does include non food items.

Local bakery for a fresh loaf.

[george r]

I'm old enough to remember Kwik Save.  Great place, they wheeled out pallets of cardboard boxes and cut them open and you picked your shopping.

As a child I was dispatched to the village to visit at least 7 or 8 shops for different items.  I took my shopping bag for life of course.

I was fascinated at how the cashier slammed away at the register her fingers moving like lightening and seemingly knowing the prices of everything in the shop in her head.

They say that memory has a smell and colour and I can remember the 'emotions' of the shiny new decimal currency like it was yesterday.

yes we had a kwik save not too far away , mostly adsa tesco and iceland now mainly because they are close by

[ulstersubbie]

Lidl - their Delux range is better than Tesco and the store is mainly food  no TVs, clothes etc Their Xmas range of cakes and biscuits is superb

I agree with you, their Deluxe range is good quality and the beer selection has certainly been getting a lot more interesting in recent years, craft beer, ales etc.

[Stevelondon]

I had you down as an Arrods man

I fell out with the owner 🤷🏼

[Jumping Jack Flash]

Really miss a Wilkinsons. Always got my toiletries from there as well as things like paint, buckets, mops etc. Now have to get the same stuff much more expensive from Asda /  Tesco.

Have you got a Home Bargains or a B & M near where you live? They are both very similar to Wilkinsons but cheaper. These two chains played a large part in the demise of Wilkinsons.

[worstnameever]

did sainsburys not get a big handout from the government recently and launched their 'kickstarter' scheme where people can go and work at Sainsburys for free to gain works experience to help them job hunting.

Id say saisburys is the supermarket that is behind the times, the one near me has halved in size and only really sell branded goods so a weekly shop costs a fortune. Its always full of old people who walk slower than backwards and block up the entire shop.

Personally id say tesco is the best shop for having decent stuff and variation. Lidl just seems like a crapper version of aldi with alot of the stuff being the same but feels lesser quality. 

[DastardlyDick]

Lidl regularly beats other supermarkets on reviews by Which? so they must be doing something right. As for branded vs own label stuff, chances are they're made in the same factory with different labels applied.

[PilotMan]

Lidl regularly beats other supermarkets on reviews by Which?

Beats other supermarkets according to Which, in what category?

Waitrose & M&S always come top for quality.

Here's an aggregate of various reports and reviews.



Hidden Image/Members Only

[PilotMan]

Here's the results of a YouGov poll from early 2025.

These are factual numbers that asked a simple question and got answers from a wide selection of the public, so this isn't some researcher giving an opinion.

Question: When you are in the market next to purchase groceries, from which of the following would you consider purchasing?

Hidden Image/Members Only

[daviemac]

Have you got a Home Bargains or a B & M near where you live? They are both very similar to Wilkinsons but cheaper. These two chains played a large part in the demise of Wilkinsons.

The Range bought the Wilko brand and stock branded products as well as online sales, while B&M and Poundland took over the stores.

There's a The Range store near me that used to be No Frills. It stocks Iceland products as well as Wilko, don't know what that relationship is? 

[badsin]

Again, farmfoods. Egg's, milk, butter, cheese, frozen meat and vegetables.  Fruit is good, although hit and miss on availability 

[The0neAnd0nly]

Have you got a Home Bargains or a B & M near where you live? They are both very similar to Wilkinsons but cheaper. These two chains played a large part in the demise of Wilkinsons.

Yeah got both - both on the same retail park in Sheffield funnily enough lol.

However Wilkinsons had that local neighbourhood feel before retail parks and lack of car parking used to be a thing. There used to be a Wilkinsons less then 5 mins from my house and another where my grandparents lived.

Much preferred these stores for that, rather then The Range (overpriced) and Home Bargains (full of chavs) in my experience 😅

[Vice Admiral]

There's a The Range store near me that used to be No Frills. It stocks Iceland products as well as Wilko, don't know what that relationship is? 

It appears to be a "strategic alliance" – and indeed to have been going on for a number of years:
External Link/Members Only

[DastardlyDick]

Beats other supermarkets according to Which, in what category?

Waitrose & M&S always come top for quality.

Here's an aggregate of various reports and reviews.



Hidden Image/Members Only

IIRC it was a combination of price and quality.

[stanr]

A few years ago, whilst suffering with a bad case of sciatica, which went on for 3 months, i tried all the various Home Delivery Services for every UK supermarket for the first time.

My vaguely scientific experiment generated the result that, surprisingly, Morrisons was best suited for me for my 'once a month' BIG shop of heavy items, tins, everyday stuff etc for three reasons.

1. Their prices and the range of products available for home delivery were actually ok,

2. They deliver everything in plastic bags which makes it easy to transport everything from the front door to the kitchen. Yes, they charge you per bag, but you get it back when you return the bags on the next delivery (Sainsburys and Asda make you unload from their tote box on the front step, whilst the driver watches....Rubbish service for an over 70s guy)

3. For the last 4 monthly deliveries I have not had to pay for delivery at all. Morrisons keep sending me vouchers... the latest one for October is free delivery when you spend £25 online. Even when i have to pay for delivery, I usually go for one of the many £1.25 delivery slot. No brainer!


I then supplement this once-a-month big shop with weekly trips to Lidl for everything else I need, esp fruit & veg, fresh meat, fresh fish, bread, milk, yoghurts, etc and any of the weekly themed items that float my boat. I am lucky we have a massive Lidl literally less that 1-mile from my home.

[mr.bluesky]

I like Aldi, where else can you buy a tin of beans and an angle grinder all under one roof 

[catweazle]

I do my main food shop at Aldi ( last weeks pork joint was excellent) but i then cross the road to Asda as some particular items aren't stocked in Aldi ,( Warburtons farmhouse bread for one). While generally I dont notice much difference in Aldis own label stuff. I do get some 'big name' stuff from Asda ,- i prefer Dolmio pasta sauce to Aldis own brand, for example.

[Jumping Jack Flash]

2. They deliver everything in plastic bags which makes it easy to transport everything from the front door to the kitchen. Yes, they charge you per bag, but you get it back when you return the bags on the next delivery (Sainsburys and Asda make you unload from their tote box on the front step, whilst the driver watches....Rubbish service for an over 70s guy)

Sainsbury’s drivers will take the boxes into the kitchen for you.

[stanr]

Sainsbury’s drivers will take the boxes into the kitchen for you.

Not in my experience they wouldn't .....plus the range of available items on home delivery from Sainsbury was the poorest of all the big supermarkets, the most shortages

[Jumping Jack Flash]

Not in my experience they wouldn't .....plus the range of available items on home delivery from Sainsbury was the poorest of all the big supermarkets, the most shortages

In my experience they do. When I used their home delivery service they always carried it through to the kitchen. I switched to click and collect as it’s more convenient but my elderly mother and several other members of my family still have home deliveries and the drivers always carry it through to the kitchen.

[DastardlyDick]

In my experience they do. When I used their home delivery service they always carried it through to the kitchen. I switched to click and collect as it’s more convenient but my elderly mother and several other members of my family still have home deliveries and the drivers always carry it through to the kitchen.

Sainsbury's always used to offer to bring it through to the kitchen, but we had 2 dogs who were very good at becoming trip hazards!

[Jerboa]

Morison’s do a click and collect only offer on Staropramen 3 cases of 10x 440ml for 30 quid 

[dynatron]

aldis and lidils are for my main shop and my local tesco if i need something little without travelling