Battle of the supermarkets

By Luke Unger, Deputy Wellbeing Editor

With a new M&S coming to Whiteladies Road, an all-out supermarket war seems to be on the horizon.

Expect to be dodging free-range eggs and flung frozen pizzas as you make your way for your weekly shop. Indeed, you may have to adjust your normal route to avoid the armies of employees duelling with baguettes in the street, rallying behind their store mottos; ‘Every little helps!’ ‘Live well for less,’ and perhaps most poetically: ‘Big on quality, Lidl on price’.

However, despite this sad display of own-brand violence, students will now have the option to reassess their current supermarket. Here is a list of pros and cons for each store to help you decide what best suits you.

Sainsburys

Pros:

• They’re everywhere around Bristol. You literally can’t escape them. In fact, rumour has it the company has put in a bid to rename Senate House Sainsburys.
• Nectar Card points/ vouchers. Spend £40 on your next shop and get a small tub of kale ice cream? Yes please.

Cons:

• They attract everyone you know. Fancy a hungover trip to pick up a smoothie and some paracetamol? Don’t bother, unless you want to see 6 of your course mates, your ex and your entire extended family.

percy pigs - the gucci of the sweet game🐷

— hector (@decbhoy88) February 16, 2019

Tesco

Pros:

• Only Expresses, so open late enough to buy alcohol.

Cons:

• Only Expresses so all pretty expensive. Also, often rowdy at night (see above).
• Buying your meal deal from there doesn’t really fit with your whole individual ‘boycott Tesco’ ethos (Sainsburys is fine though).

Aldi/ Lidl

Pros:

• Cheap as chips (as long as those chips are frozen).
• Knock-off own brand names. Why not treat yourself to an oblong bar? Or better yet pour yourself a refreshing glass of Lambrucini.

Cons:

• The checkout speeds. No time is wasted here. Aldi and Lidl maintain their company policy of only hiring individuals who feel personally insulted by all food, to maintain its efficiency in keeping down low prices.
• High likelihood you’ll contract ‘Aldi Fever’: an insatiable urge to buy everything in the store. What was once meant to be a shop to save money has turned into a culinary rampage. You validate your £25 spend on biscuits knowing it would have been £100 in Waitrose.
• A trek to get to. If you’re not lucky enough to have a mate who has a car in Bristol expect to enjoy the oh-so-timely Bristol public transport in order to reach your frozen food nirvana.

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A post shared by Lidl UK (@lidluk) on Sep 14, 2018 at 5:00am PDT

Waitrose

Pros:

• A place to be seen. Oh darling! Back at Waitrose again? I know! Those prosecco flavoured custard creams are divine!
• Waitrose coffee. In all seriousness, if you haven’t already got the card yet get one. As long as you have a keep cup and buy a banana, your additional coffee comes to a total of 14p altogether! Mint.
• The Queens Road Waitrose for some reason always has at least one carefully groomed doggo outside.

Cons:

• Well spenny. One weekly shop is more than likely to take you into your overdraft.

And finally...

M&S

Pros:

• The new kid on the block. Who knows what crazy shenanigans M&S are going to get up to???
• Percy Pigs. Yeahhhh baby.
• Sell everything. Need a suit for work? No worries! Some new underwear and socks? Here you go! Some dad jeans which are too embarrassing to be ironic? No bother!

Cons:

• The younger brother of Waitrose in terms of ‘boujiness’. While both went to Eton however, M&S, like many Bristol students, didn’t get accepted into Oxbridge.
• It hasn’t opened yet so I can’t get Percy Pigs.

Featured image: Flickr / Bobbie Johnson

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