Sainsbury’s Nectar change: prices cut on more than 300 items

Sainsbury’s shoppers can save money on more than 300 products thanks to a new price-cutting initiative - but only if you're signed up to its Nectar loyalty scheme.

The initiative, Nectar Prices, offers special deals for Nectar members - you'll just need to remember to swipe your card or app barcode when you shop in-store, or link your card to your online Sainsbury's account.

It works in a similar way to Tesco Clubcard Prices, where you have to sign up to the supermarket’s loyalty programme to access the price cuts.

Here, Which? outlines more details about how Nectar Prices works, what items you can make savings on, and where it doesn’t apply.

How do Sainsbury’s Nectar Prices work?

The Nectar Prices scheme offers cheaper prices on selected items to members of Sainsbury’s Nectar loyalty programme. 

It currently covers more than 300 branded products, but this is set to expand to more products and categories in future. Sainsbury's would not confirm whether future price reductions would cover own label as well as branded items.

Sainsbury's says the Nectar Prices available today are ‘just the start’, with a spokesperson adding: 'We will keep refreshing Nectar Prices and increasing the variety of products on offer.'

Items that are part of the promotion will be clearly marked with a Nectar Price label, visible on the shelf edge in Sainsbury’s stores or next to the product on its website. Sainsbury's told Which? that unit prices for items discounted under the Nectar Prices promotion are visible on shelf edge labels in its supermarkets, as well as when logged in on its website.

If you shop in a Sainsbury’s store using its self-scanning Smartshop system, you will also get further personalised discounts on some items. We have not yet been able to get confirmation from Sainsbury’s on what those products would be, or further information on how the additional discounts will work. We will update this article if we hear more.

• Find out more: supermarket and high street shops’ loyalty cards compared

How much could Nectar Prices save you?    

Depending on your shopping habits, there are some big savings to be had with Nectar Prices - with some products costing less than half the price you'd pay if you didn't have a Nectar card.

For example, the non-Nectar price of Nescafé Gold Blend Instant Coffee 200g is £8.10, while the Nectar Price is £4. However, if you don't have a Nectar card it's worth shopping around: when we checked, you could get the same coffee for £7 from some other supermarkets.

Other deals Sainsbury's has highlighted include a £55 saving on the Oral-B Pro 3 3500 Cross Action Black electric toothbrush and travel case, which would usually cost £100 but is reduced to £45 as part of Nectar Prices.

Here's a list, provided by Sainsbury's, showing some popular products with Nectar Prices to give you an idea of some of the best savings you could make:

• Find out more: which is the cheapest supermarket?

Nectar Prices not available in Sainsbury's Local or petrol station branches

The price reductions offered through Nectar Prices are available at Sainsbury’s supermarkets, but not at its branches in petrol stations, concessions or at any Sainsbury’s Local convenience stores.

This compounds issues uncovered by recent Which? research, which revealed that regularly shopping at Tesco Express or Sainsbury’s Local stores rather than their larger supermarkets could cost you hundreds more each year. 

As part of our research, we compared the prices of 69 groceries at a Sainsbury's supermarket and Sainsbury's Local stores, and found that you would have paid £477.93 more in 2022 if you shopped in convenience stores rather than supermarkets.

The scheme may also make it difficult for customers trying to use unit prices to find the best value, as when we checked the Sainsbury’s website, it didn’t compare the unit prices of items for shoppers with Nectar cards and those without. Unit pricing enables shoppers to compare value by the cost per unit (for example per 100g or 100ml) to help find the best deals, or work out savings per unit on promotions. 

As part of the Which? Affordable Food for All campaign, we are calling on supermarkets to ensure comparable unit pricing is provided alongside all products so shoppers can make informed decisions. This comes as our research has uncovered poor, inconsistent and sometimes missing unit pricing on groceries across a range of supermarkets. 

Sue Davies, Which? Head of Food Policy, said: 

‘At a time when people have less money to spend due to the cost of living crisis, it's important that they can access lower priced products. However, these Sainsbury's Nectar deals should also be rolled out to convenience stores so people on low incomes who rely on these shops can also benefit.'

How the Sainsbury’s Nectar scheme works

The Sainsbury's Nectar scheme allows you to earn a minimum of one point per £1 spent in store, online or on fuel at Sainsbury’s. Nectar points are worth from 0.5p, so 500 Nectar points would be worth at least £2.50. 

Alongside Nectar Prices, the 18 million existing Nectar cardholders will also continue to get personalised offers and Your Nectar Prices based on their shopping habits each week. Nectar app customers can get bonus points offers after they shop.

You can also earn Nectar points on products you buy with Sainsbury’s Nectar partners, including Argos, British Airways and eBay, and spend them with almost 300 brands, including Vue Cinemas. Most partners will give you two points for every pound you spend, but some are more generous.

Sainsbury's says it will continue running its Aldi Price Match initiative, too.

• Find out more: how to spend less at the supermarket

Which? Affordable Food for All campaign

Which? has launched a campaign calling on the big supermarkets to take action and make a real difference to communities across the UK struggling to access affordable food.

With the price of essential products soaring, supermarkets have a crucial role to play. 

Which? research has found that millions of families are skipping meals to survive the cost of living crisis. We're therefore asking supermarkets to commit to clearer unit pricing to enable shoppers to find the cheapest options more easily, and better access to budget food ranges.

If you want your supermarket to take action, sign our petition.