Bogofs are making shoppers spend an extra £1,300 a year
Study finds best way to avoid hefty bills is to make a list and stick to it
SHOPPERS are spending nearly £1,300 extra each year on their grocery bill because they are being seduced by eye-catching offers such as buy-one-get-one-free (bogof) deals.
Three-quarters of consumers regularly spend more than they planned due to the in-store offers at supermarkets, according to a Money Advice Survey study.
On average, people spent £11.14 more than they intended on each grocery shop, which the consumer group worked out to be an annual extra spend of £1,274 per person.
Research found the best way to avoid a surprise at the tills was to make a list and stick to it rigidly.
Those who followed the advice typically spent £6,374 on groceries a year compared to those who rarely or never made lists who spent £6,591 – a saving of £217.
Other common reasons for spending more than expected in supermarkets were the pester power of children, boredom and shopping while hungry.
John Penberthy-Smith, customer director at the Money Advice Service, said: “The problem is that quite often we see a special offer at the supermarket and we don’t want to miss out, so we throw it into our trolley without really thinking about whether it is a good deal or whether we actually need it.
“Often deals can be difficult to understand and compare with other prices. Then there’s waste – even if the offers are cheaper, bigger packets or 50 per cent extra – [they] are not always good value for money, if we end up chucking most of it away. The best thing to do, if you want to save cash, is to write a shopping list and to stick to it. You can also try shopping when you’ve just eaten and you’re not tired.”
Professor Leigh Sparks, a lecturer in retail studies at Stirling University, said consumers “vary enormously” and many shoppers either do not or cannot accurately estimate what they will spend on a supermarket bill.
“There are undoubtedly some offers where there is more bought because of the offer, but some offers do not have that effect. Not all offers are the same,” he explained.
“The shopping trip that is based on a list is relatively limited these days.
“Some people pick up things as they shop or are attracted to a lot of different things. They see an offer and see a bargain there.
“Where there are offers on fresh produce, I think there can be a problem, because people do not rationalise the amount of product they need and it can be wasted.
“I am less convinced there is a problem with dry goods such as tinned tuna for example.
“I don’t think it’s all bad, but it is not all good.”
The academic was not sure if people were spending more money, because “people do not often know how much they will spend”.
He added: “There is no doubt people are interested in price, and you would expect that because of the recession and consumers are more aware of the value of products.”
When the 2,000 consumers surveyed were asked four questions based on common supermarket offers, and asked to choose the cheapest option, just two per cent of people correctly identified all four of the cheapest options.