Overview
- Which? analysed prices from March 2025 to March 2026 across major UK supermarkets and found many branded grocery items were on promotion at at least one retailer almost every day.
- The group identified repeating three-to-four-week promotional cycles that rotate products between higher and lower prices so shoppers who do not compare can routinely pay more.
- Which? gave item-level examples showing heavy discounting: Kellogg’s Special K was on offer for roughly half the year at some chains, Tropicana 1.5L was at or below £3.50 for 99% of the year in at least one store, and Fox’s biscuits were discounted for 99% of the year.
- Researchers used data from an independent provider and included loyalty prices while excluding multi‑buy deals, and supermarkets such as Tesco responded with statements describing their pricing schemes.
- Which? advised shoppers to check unit pricing, read shelf labels for offer end dates, use price trackers and shop around to save money and notes Asda is cheapest for branded groceries while Aldi and Lidl are cheapest overall.