I don’t understand Waitrose.

[JensonsAcolyte]

I just went to the big Waitrose because they stock gochujang paste. I thought I may as well get a few bits, chicken, cereal, crisps, pasta etc. All the sort of stuff that isn’t dinners but filler food.

£90!

For four bags of shopping.

And it didn’t feel special or posh or magical or anything.

Why do people shop there? Is it actually a snobbery thing? We have a Sainsburys, Tesco and Lidl within a mile or so radius as well.

The only thing it had going for it for me was the aforementioned chilli paste that I couldn’t get in Tesco. But other than the Ingredients range, the other ranges they offer aren’t very wide.

Will anyone admit that they shop there out of snobbery/classism?

What I mean is, I often find ppl compare prices of big brands across the supermarkets, but that's not really the point. If you buy mostly own brand, or small brands or just whatever is on offer, then your shop will usually be cheaper and better quality in a so-called pricier supermarket.

Theres one in a small town near me. I pop in once in a while when I am nearby for other reasons. They do have some nice, different things but it's expensive!!

@JensonsAcolyte

No, lunches. Sliced chicken. Cost me £7 for two packs! Seven English pounds

Why did you buy it then? It's well known that supermarkets display food to tempt you to buy more than you intended. If it cost more than you wanted to pay you didn't have to buy any of it.

We shop in Waitrose, Sainsburys and Lidl. A lot of meat is pumped full of water so I'm fussy about where I buy it. Lidl has a lovely seeded wholemeal loaf, better than any sliced loaf at Waitrose. Apples are more consistently better at Lidl but if we want Shitake mushrooms or anything more unusual then Lidl are no good, everything there is pretty basic.

I've never in my life shopped out of snobbery/classism and go to any supermarket, including Co-op, Waitrose and Iceland. I have to say I haven't noticed Waitrose prices being exceptionally high and they have lots of offers. You must have been unlucky. £70 is a lot for what you bought.

Ocado used to sell a lot of Waitrose food and I often ordered from them, the food was pretty good. Now they use M&S and it is not so good. Some M&S stuff is quite dear.

Personally, I shop in Waitrose for 2 main reasons (although I get most of our cupboard bits on a monthly delivery from Asda)

• we are a vegan household and Waitrose have some lovely bits that we can’t buy elsewhere. Their vegan range is brilliant and really tasty

• I am autistic. It is the only supermarket that doesn’t cause me to have a meltdown or feel an emotional wreck after going there. I get sensory overload in busy supermarkets but this isn’t a problem in Waitrose because it is much quieter and no crowds to handle, no stressful music or constant loud announcements, the lighting is much softer and doesn’t hurt my eyes the way other supermarkets do and the aisles are better spaced out. On the odd occasion I may need help finding something etc, the staff are very friendly and helpful, which means I don’t feel anxious or worry about asking them anything.

Obviously I am aware that neither of these reasons will apply to many of their customers, but these are the reasons which apply to my personal circumstances.

Waitrose win the Compassion in World farming award. That is enough of a reason for me.

@JensonsAcolyte

It might just be confirmation bias on my part to be fair. I was expecting it to be more expensive but I did buy a load of unnecessary shite.

That's the thing - you got tempted to buy stuff you do not need or can buy elsewhere cheaper. We live in Waitroseland, just a few miles from their HO so are surrounded by them. My tactic is to ONLY buy what's on offer when it is on offer. So teabags - currently PGTips as they're now compostable bags. Aldi/Sainsburys price about £3-4 for 240 box. Wait till WR have it on 1/3 off or special offer it at £3.99 instead of £5.99. Buy 2-3 months supply. By the time you run out it'll be on offer again. Kenco coffee refills - again frequently on 1/3 off. Check their reduced shelf 6pm is a good time or first thing Wednesday in our branch.

We just don't buy what itsn't on offer.

Everything you bought would have cost the same in every other supermarket

It'd be considerably cheaper in Aldi.
Also, as a pp said - wouldn't you just go to an Asian or Chinese supermarket for that specialist ingredient?
Seems to me (And I do it myself ) that you've gone to Waitrose specifically for that and then been seduced by the treat/posh/pricey items....

Tesco and Sainsbury's and I never really notice much difference

I did a test of this. Did a test weekly online shop in both stores, Tesco was cheaper by about £10 on a £60 quid shop.

Because the food from other supermarkets is disgusting - Sainsbury’s is awful. Tesco is surprisingly slightly better but still foul.

@Scrfgkesjwjrf

Because the food from other supermarkets is disgusting - Sainsbury’s is awful. Tesco is surprisingly slightly better but still foul.

Oh come on.

The worst is M&S. I will never forgive Ocado for visiting that misery upon us.

I did a weekly shop there when I couldn't get a delivery slot at ASDA or Tesco. I was quite surprised at the prices, they were a lot lower than I expected, and they had better selection.

I find Waitrose is better quality than other shops. Of course it’s going to be cheaper than Aldi/Lidl/Asda, just like Waitrose is going to cheaper than Fortnum and Masons- it’s aimed at different markets.

Are you by any chance a Gousto customer? Gojuchang paste seems to be all the rage with us at the moment! Btw Sainsbury’s sells a massive tub for £2 for future reference :)

Waitrose isn't particularly expensive if you buy sensible things. If you go into any supermarket and buy 4 bags (the amount of my weekly shop for 2 kids and 2 adults), you are probably going to pick nice/ fancy/ pricy things...

DH and I moved to a new area in January and did an experiment where we did our weekly shop at Waitrose, Tesco, Lidl, and Aldi. The weeks were all fairly similar and none involved alcohol. Waitrose typically came in at literally double the cost of Aldi/Lidl (£130 vs. £65 for us as a household of two). Although we'd normally have to top up with 5-10 more specific items at Tesco/Waitrose which would probably add £15. Tesco was maybe only 10-15% cheaper than Waitrose, less than I expected. Obviously these weren't identical shops but very similar and over several weeks so I think the point holds true.

I don't find the quality noticeably different unless maybe you exclusively bought the top-end stuff at Waitrose and nothing else. I 100% think people shop there for snobbery reasons - plus convenience, you don't have to do a top-up shop anywhere else if you go to Waitrose.

I have tried them all and would not feed my DC veg from Sainsbury’s or Tesco unless it is a last resort. Never been to Lidl and don’t plan to.
Basically, the cheaper it is, the poorer to quality because they still need to make a profit.

@justlonelystars

I find Waitrose is better quality than other shops. Of course it’s going to be cheaper than Aldi/Lidl/Asda, just like Waitrose is going to cheaper than Fortnum and Masons- it’s aimed at different markets.

Are you by any chance a Gousto customer? Gojuchang paste seems to be all the rage with us at the moment! Btw Sainsbury’s sells a massive tub for £2 for future reference :)

Haha yes from Gousto! The kids went mad for the Korean chicken.

I use Waitrose a few times a month for odds and sods I forgot to get on my usual Sainsbury's delivery order. I like going there because it always feels less fraught - it's usually less busy than any of the other supermarkets and the checkout staff don't move at the speed of light like they do in Aldi (Aldi just makes me feel super-anxious at the checkout, ha ha).

I'm CONSTANTLY amazed at the rising cost of food and domestic items in supermarkets. NOTHING is 'cheap' anymore and considering there's only the two of us (my husband and I), I'll regularly spend around £150 a week on groceries. Admittedly, we like to have plenty of nice wine in the house and we're both fat, greedy bastards with huge appetites, so.....

Oh God I love Waitrose. Where I used to live I loved it. It was a really nice supermarket - lots of natural light. Used to love mooching around all the lovely food. The food just is much, much nicer - better quality, much better range and type of food than in Sainsbury's or anywhere else.

I really miss it! Have to shop in Asda now. It sucks!

See, I do find the quality different - I tend to view the waitrose normal ranges as similar quality to the "best of" or "taste the difference" ranges for tesco and sainburys, so compared to that, the price isn't much more. One thing that's annoyed me about ocado going to selling M&S food rather than waitrose is M&S things seem same price or higher than waitrose but not the same quality.

We have a small aldi and lidl in our town but they don't stock everything I need, the meat isn't very flavourful, and I end up having to still go to sainsburys or tescos for half the things I need, my time is too valuable to be arsed doing that every week.

It’s more conveniently located for me. It’s also much cleaner, more spacious, very well-staffed. Has good butchers and fishmongers counters. I prefer their wine range to Sainsbury’s.

I wish Waitrose was in Ireland.
Sainsburys too.

We've got Tesco, Marks and Spencer, Aldi, Lidl and Irish companies- SuperValue and Dunnes Stores.

In fact, in my experience veg boxes are better than supermarkets (with all the packaging and air miles - we had to get some Tesco grapes the other day in the absence of alternatives and the packet contained grapes from - wait for it - Chile AND India). We have been getting veg boxes for years and only top up veg as necessary but only from Waitrose.