To be amazed at how much more expensive...

[mumsgotatum]

I know this has probably been done to death... and it's totally obvious but I have just done a weekly shop at Waitrose instead of my usual at Tesco. I cannot believe how much more expensive it is. Some to the products are a good £1 if not more extra, and loads of little things are like 50p more. Sorry this is really boring....but WHY is Waitrose so expensive? I admit it is a calmer shopping expereince, a nice ambiance, polite staff but SO pricey

Because the business model is different, and they aren't failing so clearly it works for them!

Personally I find I spend less in waitrose because I don't buy anything at all that isn't strictly necessary and am much more picky. But I can see that if you are a strict list shopper that sticks to particular brands etc, that probably wouldn't be true.

Waitrose is dearer
It attracts a better sort
Tesco is for plebs

Tesco is for everday food and feeding ordinary families at a reasonable cost...not plebs

Waitrose is for treats at Christmas, special meals & rich divorcees...it does have some yummy stuff though.

Not sure about the calmer shopping experience. Try negotiating your way round the one in Bath with a buggy and 2 kids, you get some very grumpy looks.

Average Tesco pleb
Wouldn't know a haiku if
Bit by one on arse

i suppose buyers pay extra so they can bask in their generosity to support the ethos of the shop, maybe?

they glow a little when they leave the shop after spending their husbands hard earned money on £6 for two chicken breasts

You can spend £6 for 2 chicken breasts in tesco!

Waitrose do whole chickens for £4 each, tesco do them for £3. It's not that different really.

I am very fussy about meat - Tescos have been exposed so many times for animal cruelty. Waitrose have their own farms - you know exactly where the meat comes from, how it has been treated. They were the first to do free-range eggs. I don't drink a lot, don't go to pubs or smoke. So I am happy to spend my money on food I like and trust.

I like the staff, I like the experience of shopping there.

southeastastra Fri 18-Mar-11 20:57:51

'they glow a little when they leave the shop after spending their husbands hard earned money on £6 for two chicken breasts'

WTFFFF?? why on earth is it 'their husbands hard earned money?'. I shop in Waitrose on occasion and spend our money (earned by us both) on my £6 chicken breasts. Not that i buy chicken breasts mind you i will buy a whole chicken.

What a bizarre statement

Waitrose is effectively my local supermarket - the nearest Tesco is shit. Having debated the merits with dh I once did the same shop and meal plain in Tesco and the same in Waitrose about 3 weeks later based on my Tesco's receipt. The difference was a whopping £3.12 more at Waitrose. I know this is anecdote rather than data but I find it quite heartening as the quality is so much better.

If you watch what you spend regardless of where you shop and meal plan it's not vastly different. If you are distracted by nice things and treats, or easier but more expensive ready made options .... don't go

I prefer Waitrose;
Although both attract mummies
Theirs are yummier.

Waitrose is a much smaller business than Tesco, and therefore they don't get the same economies of scale and don't have the same bargaining power with suppliers. Because their costs are higher they have to add a bigger margin to everything. If you stick to their 'Essentials' range it's on a par with the bigger supermarkets, but brands and fancy goods are going to be more expensive.

I know a couple who like to name drop about shopping in Waitrose which is quite amusing. Oh darling pass me the Waitrose butter...' The same people used to preach to me if i ever went there that Waitrose and Sainsburys were for Tory snobs... but this was before they became unbearable snobs themselves.

I shop in Tesco
I like it there, thanks
pretentious nobs.... none...

and yes it is, before anyone starts, 5,5,5 is perfectly acceptable as haiku form ( so Stephen Fry say and he knows everyfink)

We don't have any Waitroses around here. But have 5 Tescos in a radius of 5 miles. Have to go almost 10 miles just to find another supermarket.
Would rather get my meat from farm shops.

We don't have a waitrose near us so have never been to one -sob-.

Their MD did say today though that he doesn't want to them to be described as 'posh', but rather 'aspirational'.

On a seperate note, I'm loving the haikus!

I don't think you know
How a haiku is laid out.
It's 'five-seven-five'.

Do Waitrose have a budget range? Not that there's one in this area, am just curious?

Oh, bugger. Mr. Fry?
A superior knowledge.
I shall bow to it.

They have an "essentials" range Curious - which I usually buy when I shop at Waitrose.

I think I might have
an intellectual crush
on you, sweet haiku...

thanks for answering bellavita.

Brilliant haikus....Just out of interest, I do get Tesco organic chicken, but is it really organic, I mean cruelty free. Couldn't find any info on the labels about the farm.
I don't mind spending extra on meat as only eat chicken.

I always spend less at waitrose then anywhere else and come out with dinners rather then lots of junk offers that I don't need.

Would never shop at tesco - it would be like selling my soul to the devil!

I lust for one with
Measurements '5,7,5'.
We can never be.