What's wrong with being a Sainbury's Shopper?

I go to Sainsbury's always as it's close by and its familiar, convenient. Who do I see in there? Mr , Mrs and Ms Average, really, on observation. And I can get clothes, beauty stuff, all there.

We have a Sainsbury but they only ever one till open and the rest is scan yourself with the assitant having to come all the time. I use Waitrose for meat and fish and quite a lot of other things; then we have a Lidl right next door which I also use for stuff I know is cheaper. Which is lucky because Waitrose seem to be aware of this and often drop their prices on goods. Fruit and veg come mostly, if I can be bothered to drive the w0 ins from a lovely veg shop

I do still go to Sainsbury's often although since we moved it's not the nearest. That's now Tesco, which I do also use for convenience. Aldi and Waitrose are at the other end of the town, rarely used.
Part of the Sainsbury family had a lovely Queen Anne (2nd? 3rd?....) house in the village where I grew up. They were very nice people, not stuck up and really generous. Garden full of Henry Moore and other statues!!
Also, the family are important philanthropists. And Lord (David) Sainsbury, now Chancellor of Cambridge University, was the science minister in Tony Blair's Labour government.
Just saying.

I shop at Sainsburys because I can get all I want in one place at a reasonable price & get it delivered by pleasant drivers. No I am far from being well off & only buy what I really need every week. Have shopped with Sainsburys for so many years now would find it hard to get what I want elsewhere as it is so easy online.

Short answer: Nothing.

What on earth could be seen as bad or stupid about shopping at Sainsbury’s? Or any other supermarket? I use several different ones (mainly Sainsbury’s, Asda, Waitrose, Ocado, M&S Food), which all stock certain things that none of the others sell. Soon I’ll be shopping more than usual at M&S and/or Ocado to get as much British asparagus as possible while it’s in season. I’m addicted to the chunky M&S King asparagus.

Lots of comments, some quite funny. Of course people have to abide by what is convenient for them.

Someone said Sainsburys 'price match' to Aldi & LIDL??? But someone else provided a 'basket' (100 items) showing the latter two to be VASTLY cheaper than the 'old guard' stores!! PLUS, quality at Aldi is light years better than a few years ago, easily comparable to the 'old' names (I can't speak re Lidl, none that close).

We use Tesco for deliveries, the odd blip on times but anyone can suffer that. We're also in range of Waitrose for top-ups (some nice items, but be selective), some Co-Ops (rarely use), M&S (ready meals and several other products are excellent), and Sainsbury too (as someone said, a good gluten-free range if needed).

Are people 'sniffy' about some brands? Well, maybe, but who cares? I'd be as likely to take notice of such waffle as I would be to let someone dictate my TV choices?!

loopyloo

How fortunate people are to be able to consider convenience over cost.

Possibly not just covenience but the cost of getting to the cheapest supermarket which can outweigh the savings.

I did start to shop at Sainsbury's for a while about 15 years ago but found that their stock levels were not great. I don't believe that their quality is any better than other stores, including Aldi and Lidl but possibly excluding Watrose. I did buy Waitrose Essentials from Ocado until they swapped Waitrose for M&S and thought that that range was good value.
Two things that are missing from most supermarkets now are the serviced Butcher and Fish counters, online ordering of meat in particular is too hit-or-miss for me and I'm not willing to pay Waitrose prices. Do Sainsbury's still have that service? That would certainly tempt me back.
Sadly the supermarkets have killed most butchers and fishmongers on the high street now.

How fortunate people are to be able to consider convenience over cost.

We live between two towns, so depending on which one we're in we do our shopping Aldi in one Sainsbury's in the other although I must say Sainsbury's fruit, vegetables are far superior.

As per the advert for sainsburys man says to woman why are we shopping here are we made of money

I also think Sainsbury's is pretty middle of the road, not a social classification. I used to shop there when supermarkets were smaller and Sainsbury's products were top quality, what we would probably think of as at Waitrose level today.
I've dallied with various supermarkets over the years, usually on the basis of proximity and Lidl is probably my supermarket of choice though sadly I no longer live near a store.
So I use Ocado now, with top ups from Morrisons or Tesco if I need to go to their petrol station. However there is great excitement locally because Lidl is opening in the summer!
I wonder how many other Gransnetters are as fickle as I am in my choice of store?

BlueBelle

I think you just haven’t heard it Monica there has always been a hierarchy in supermarkets with presumable ‘poorer people’ using the cheaper priced Aldi, Lldl and Asda while the better off use Sainsbury, Waitrose and M&S
Certainly known if not directly spoken of

Most people I know, poor or rich, shop as much in Aldi and Lidl as any other store.

I don't, because there are no branches near me.

My aim when shopping is to get it done as quickly as possible as efficiently as possible, because I really do not enjoy shoppig and find it very boring. I am, therefore a one stop shopper, one day a week. The nearest supermarket which is not too big to be inefficient, yet stocks nearly everything I need is Waitrose.

If one day I woke up and found it had turned into a Lidl, Morrisons, ASDA, Sainsburies or other overnight. Providing it still stocked the products that make up the bulk of my shopping Iwould still use the same premises under the change of name. I really do not give a toss.

Sainsbury's was quite " middle of the road" last time I looked -not that it matters. Not somewhere that reeks of "more money than sense".
Possibly I am out of date.

I spent many years having to watch every penny but now I can splash out a bit so I enjoy shopping in Waitrose (2 miles away) which I think is really good value - especially their yellow sticker "Too good to waste" offers - and I love M&S too, there's a food store less than a mile from home. They have a deli offer of 3 items for £10, and I use that to stock up on their excellent quiches and cooked chicken. I use Tesco for home delivery of heavy stuff like wine (!) and boring stuff like laundry bits, dishwasher tablets etc.

And as for the ridiculous rich-v-poor divide, a friend of mine who is very well off always uses Lidl. It's her choice, it wouldn't be mine.

Affluent incomers round here all seem to think Waitrose is the only supermarket to be seen delivering to their mansions. I stick with Tesco home delivery and a monthly expensive binge in M&S. Lidl is great for fresh fruit and veg.

BlueBelle

I think most people (without cars anyway) shop at their nearest store my nearest Sainsbury’s is 10 miles away and no way would I bother with going to that I don’t even know where my nearest Waitrose would be probably at the nearest city 30 miles away 🤣M & S is in town but that one is expensive unless you are just buying an odd item

Like you I have always shopped in the nearest convenient supermarket. In our first home it was Sainsbury's and International, we moved and it was Gateway, we moved and it was Sainsbury's again, another move made Sainsbury's and Asda my most convenient supermarkets, then a job change made Waitrose more convenient. We moved to our current home and Waitrose was the nearest shop.

We are on the move again. In our new location Waitrose, Lidl, M&S Food and Iceland all huddle together for comfort in the town centre. I am sure I will soon work out which shop is best for what and share my trade among them.

I will not be checking any of them out on any social status measuring site.

I think most people (without cars anyway) shop at their nearest store my nearest Sainsbury’s is 10 miles away and no way would I bother with going to that I don’t even know where my nearest Waitrose would be probably at the nearest city 30 miles away 🤣M & S is in town but that one is expensive unless you are just buying an odd item

I live in greater London, I an in Easy access to Morrisons, a small Waitrose, same distance the other way is Asda, Marks and Spencer, Sainsburys and Marks and Spencer. I also have a Sainsburys Superstore a short car journey. I have a good pick to shop from but prefer the Superstore for variety.
I don't understand shopping snobbery or people's need to comment, its so rude. Little do those people know, not their business, that I also buy yellow sticker food, and Bogof. I bought five things on my last shop probably saved £5, not alot but it adds up.
Shop where you like and do whst suits you.

I'm not sure I'd term Aldi as "pile it high" I've only been shopping there since fairly recently, my observation is that sometimes certain stocks run low. My understanding is that Aldi and Lidl undercut because compared to the mighty Tesco and the other major supermarkets, who carry a staggering amount of lines, they don't, I'm aware that there is a far more limited variety in Aldi than say Sainsburys, the upside of that I can navigate myself around that store far quicker, fewer browsing isles.

Waitrose is my nearest supermarket by miles, so that’s where I shop.

I’d probably shop at Sainsbury’s if there was one nearer me, but 20miles is too far to go.

I don’t think there are huge price differences between the major supermarkets.

I think you just haven’t heard it Monica there has always been a hierarchy in supermarkets with presumable ‘poorer people’ using the cheaper priced Aldi, Lldl and Asda while the better off use Sainsbury, Waitrose and M&S
Certainly known if not directly spoken of

We have a decent sized Sainsburys not far from us and their prices are very little different to Asda or Morrisons. We started getting deliveries from them as they emailed us when the pandemic started to tell us we were classed as vulnerable (my DH was retired on ill health). So we were put on the priority list for delivery. Have used them ever since. Tried Lidl but couldn't get everything I wanted and wasn't keen on the stuff they sold. Asda and Tesco too far

Yes I have had the comment made to me as I get an online delivery from Waitrose every 2 weeks, I like Waitrose, the fresh products last longer with always good sell by dates.
We top up at M&S or Lidl, tbh I don't find the prices at Waitrose that bad.

Sainsburys, I spend too much on other products and not food. At least with Waitrose it's just food.

I also have a Costco card so I buy bulky products there, they are always much cheaper we just store them in the Garage.

Why is GN so obsessed by class.

It had never ever occurred to me that supermarkets had any particular class.

Waitrose deliberately places itself as a premium supermarket, Aldi and Lidl trade on a low price, pile it high and sell it cheap basis and then there are the rest.

As I have said I shop in Waitrose because it is a town centre supermarket and not too big. In the past in different circumstances I have shopped in Sainsburies, Asda, Tesco, International Stores, Gateway, Summerfield. what 'class' these shops are has never occurred to me.