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Shoppers in Britain should never pay full price for certain groceries because they are always on offer from at least one major supermarket, a study found today.
Branded household staples such as cereal, orange juice and biscuits were discovered in a Which? investigation to be on promotion somewhere every day of the year.
Researchers tracked the prices of thousands of popular groceries across Tesco, Sainsbury's Asda, Morrisons, Waitrose and Ocado from March 2025 to March 2026.
The consumer group uncovered patterns of rotating three-to-four-week discount cycles - meaning shoppers are likely paying too much for popular items when they are not on sale, because they will probably be able to find them cheaper elsewhere.
Items including Kellogg's Special K cereal, Tropicana Orange Juice and Fox's Chocolate Biscuits were found to be on promotion at at least one store every day.
A 440g box of Special K consistently sat at a full price of £3.30 to £3.50 - but a shopper could always purchase it for £2.85 or less at one or more supermarkets.
Special K was on offer at Ocado for 51 per cent of the year, closely followed by Tesco at 50 per cent, Waitrose at 48 per cent and Sainsbury's at 45 per cent.
Promotions were less frequent at Asda and Morrisons, but the cereal was still discounted for 29 per cent of the time and its price dropped as low as £2.63.
Meanwhile a 1.5-litre carton of Tropicana Orange Juice was discounted to £3.50 or less for 99 per cent of the year. The 'full price' was between £4.28 and £4.75.
A 130g pack of Fox's Chocolatey Milk Chocolate Biscuit Rounds had a 'full price' of between £2 and £2.75 but were on sale for £1.75 or less for 99 per cent of the year.
Which? issued the following advice to consumers to avoid paying too much for your supermarket shop:
And a 625g box of Nestlé Shredded Wheat Cereal had an official full price between £3.50 and £3.95 but was available at a £3 or less 97 per cent of the time.
Onken Set Natural Yogurt (450g) was marked down to £1.50 or less - and often as low as £1.25, against a full price of £1.75 to £2.10.
A 130g pack of Kettle Chips Lightly Salted Crisps dropped to £1.65 or less despite a regular full price from £2.40 to £2.65.
The study also highlighted large price swings on popular items depending on when and where they were purchased.
A four-pack of Light & Free Peach Passion Fruit Greek Style Yoghurt (115g each) fluctuated by 190 per cent – and was as low as £1 at Ocado compared to £2.90 at Waitrose at its highest.
The biggest price hike within the same store was at Asda for Amaara plain poppadoms (200g), which fluctuated by 213 per cent - priced at 48p at its lowest but £1.50 at its highest.
Which? retail editor Reena Sewraz said: 'Supermarkets are using dizzying pricing cycles to create a false sense of urgency, but our investigation blows the lid off these endless promotions.
'When items like Tropicana and Special K are on sale nearly every single day of the year, the 'full price' becomes entirely meaningless.
'To avoid being ripped off, shoppers need to ignore the flashy promotions and look closely at the unit pricing on the shelf edge - the price per 100g or 100ml - to see what they are actually getting for their money.
'If you are loyal to a certain branded item, it could be worth tracking prices across multiple stores and stocking up when you see a good deal.'
The researchers gathered pricing data from an independent data provider tracking branded items. Regular discounts and loyalty scheme pricing were included, but multi-buy promotions were excluded.
| Branded Product | Typical RRP / Full Price Range | Promotional / Discounted Price Reality | Investigation Findings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kellogg's Special K Original Cereal (440g) | £3.30 to £3.50 | £2.85 or less (as low as £2.63) | On deal somewhere every single day. On promotion 51% of the year at Ocado and 50% at Tesco. |
| Tropicana Orange Juice Original (1.5L) | £4.28 to £4.75 | £3.50 or less (as low as £2.95) | On promotion every single day of the year at one of the tracked retailers. Available at £3.50 or less 99% of the time in at least one of the major supermarkets. |
| Fox's Chocolatey Milk Chocolate Biscuit Rounds (130g) | £2.00 to £2.75 | £1.75 or less | On promotion every single day of the year at one of the tracked retailers. Available at £1.75 or less 99% of the year at least one of the major supermarkets. |
| Nestlé Shredded Wheat Cereal (625g) | £3.50 to £3.95 | £3.00 or less | On promotion at £3 or less 97% of the time. |
| Onken Set Natural Yogurt (450g) | £1.75 to £2.10 | £1.50 or less (frequently £1.25) | On promotion every single day of the year at one of the tracked retailers. Was £1.50 or less 99% of the time at one major supermarket or another. |
| Kettle Chips Lightly Salted Crisps (130g) | £2.40 to £2.65 | £1.65 or less | On promotion at £1.65 or less every single day of the year at one of the tracked retailers. |
Join the discussion
Are supermarkets misleading shoppers with fake "full prices" to create false deals?
The Daily Mail contacted all the named supermarkets for comment.
A Tesco spokesperson said: 'We are committed to keeping the cost of the weekly food shop affordable for Tesco customers through our unique combination of Aldi Price Match, Everyday Low Prices and Clubcard Prices.
'Earlier this year we extended Aldi Price Match into our Express stores ensuring that even more of our customers can benefit from our price-matching scheme.'
Which?'s own monthly price tracker monitoring shows Asda remains the cheapest supermarket for branded groceries. Aldi and Lidl are the cheapest supermarkets overall, but sell far fewer branded items.
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