What supermarkets and shops are doing to help with the cost of living
The cost of living crisis has sent prices spiralling, with many people cutting back on essentials to save money and pay skyrocketing energy and food bills.
In response, some supermarkets and other retailers have put measures in place to help customers.
Here, Which? rounds up the types of offers you can find and where you’ll find them, to help you save as much as you can during the crisis.
Free and cheap meals
While ‘Kids eat free’ schemes, and cheap and free meal deals weren't created as a direct response to the current crisis, some shops have expanded, tweaked or highlighted their offers in light of it.
Currently, you can find meal and drink discounts at the following supermarkets:
- Asda is offering soup and a bread roll for £1 to over 60s.
- Morrisons has a permanent 'kids eat free' offer for every adult meal purchased over £4.49.
- Waitrose has reintroduced its hot drink offer in partnership with Caffè Nero for members of its myWaitrose loyalty scheme (which is free to join) – just bring your own cup to avoid being charged for a reusable one. You need to make a purchase, but there's no minimum spend to get the free drink. myWaitrose members who download the Caffè Nero app can also get 25% off Caffè Nero's seasonal menus, a free coffee at Caffè Nero branches when you link your myWaitrose card and make a purchase, and offers every month.
Find out more: which shop offers the cheapest meal deal?
Listen: the Which? Money Podcast talks about how to save on food shopping.
Targeted discounts and vouchers
The only targeted discount we're currently aware of is from Iceland, which gives over-60s 10% off their shop on Tuesdays.
- Find out more: which is the cheapest supermarket?
New or expanded value ranges
Many supermarkets and shops have expanded their value ranges to give low-income customers more options.
Pret A Manger introduced its first value range called Made Simple in January 2023, offering eight varieties of freshly made sandwiches from £2.99 each (depending on store location).
Iceland launched a Value Essentials budget range that includes everyday items such as bread, milk and fruit, as well as meal staples, while Waitrose told us its Waitrose Essentials range is the most extensive value range of any UK supermarket.
Morrisons relaunched its Savers range in March 2023, and says it will be more competitively priced against the discounters.
Which?'s supermarket inflation tracker, meanwhile, has found the price of supermarket own-label budget ranges has shot up on average by 22.9% year on year, compared to around 13.8% for premium own-brand ranges and 13.3% for branded foods.
That said, these budget lines still tend to be cheaper than branded and unbranded food and drink, so Which? believes supermarkets should do more to ensure they are widely available throughout all branches – including in smaller convenience stores.
- Find out more: what's happening to supermarket food prices?
Price locks on essential items
With inflation still high, some retailers have said they'll lock down prices on specific products for the foreseeable future.
- Boots says it will keep more than 1,500 products ‘affordable’.
- The Co-op has reduced the cost of more than 60 everyday items in its stores.
- Currys has locked down prices for several electrical items, promising RRPs lower than in 2021.
- Iceland has extended its £1 price freeze throughout 2023 across 600 frozen products. It says 300,000 customers utilised the discount on a single day in December 2022.
- M&S extended its price lock on over 100 items for the third time, until summer 2023.
- Morrisons has frozen the price of 1,000 products for at least eight weeks (from the end of March 2023), and is cutting £700m in costs over the next three years to allow it to reduce prices.
- Ocado launched the Ocado Price Promise in March 2023 to price-match the combined price of all like-for-like products you order against what you would have paid for an equivalent order from Tesco.com, including promotions and Clubcard prices. The promise covers over 10,000 products.
- Superdrug has frozen prices on more than 5,000 own-label and branded everyday items.
- Waitrose has cut the prices of more than 300 'everyday favourite' own-label products by an average of 14%.
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Interest-free food loans
Iceland has an interest-free loan scheme called the Iceland Food Club, which allows customers on a low income to apply for a pre-loaded card of between £25 and £100, with repayments set at £10 a week.
Remember there are risks associated with taking out credit, so you should make sure you understand how repayments work.
Tips on cooking and budgeting
Aldi has added a page to its website with money-saving tips and budget-friendly recipes, while Asda has launched a selection of seven 'budget-friendly' recipes on its website designed to feed a family of four an evening meal each day for a week for under £20. These recipes incorporate Asda's Just Essentials range and include dishes such as tuna and tomato pasta, and chicken stew and rice.
Iceland has introduced new energy-saving cooking guidance on packaging in a joint partnership with energy firm Utilita. Utilita's Shop Smart, Cook Savvy research claims households can save £287 by using more energy-efficient appliances, with air fryers, microwaves and slow cookers said to be the most efficient.
Iceland also launched a three for £10 offer on frozen fish and meat in April 2023.
Sainsbury’s has added ‘feed your family for a fiver’ advice to its website, which provides customers with cheap meal ideas, and Tesco has teamed up with celebrity chef Jamie Oliver to add a new element to its website to encourage people to make the most of their leftovers and unused ingredients. The supermarket has shared a range of recipes that make use of 'commonly thrown away' ingredients, a recipe finder tool designed to help shoppers discover new recipes by inputting spare, leftover and unused ingredients, advice on batch-cooking, and money saving tips.
Waitrose added a section to its website to showcase a selection of recipes that are under £2 a portion called Super Savers, such as chilli bean bowls with roasted cumin carrots or cheesy leek, chicken and pea pasta with chicken crumbs.
What else are shops doing to help with the cost of living?
Supermarkets are donating money and food to charities to help people who are worst off through the cost of living crisis.
Iceland has redistributed over 3.5m meals to local communities since January 2022, and redistributed a million meals through its partnership with food redistribution app Olio.
Lidl’s Good to Give trustmark highlights long-life items with nutritional benefits that can be donated to food banks. It also has a scheme it's running in partnership with Neighbourly, called Feed it Back, through which all its stores are connected with local charities, food banks, community cafès, and soup kitchens, where its surplus food is used.
Lidl customers can drop off new toys and games in its shops too, which will be collected by local charities participating in its Feed it Back initiative.
What to do if you're struggling to pay for food
If you need help with food and essentials, you can search for your local food bank on the Trussel Trust website. You can contact food banks directly, or you can be referred to one by Citizens Advice, Jobcentre Plus, a social worker, a medical professional or your local authority.
Your local council might be able to help in other ways, through small loans or food vouchers.
You can read all our cost of living tips and advice for more help and guidance from our experts.
- Find out more: what to do if you're struggling to afford groceries
Which? calls on supermarkets to do more
Which? has launched an Affordable Food For All campaign after we found millions of families are skipping meals to survive the cost of living crisis.
In a study undertaken with researchers from the Consumer Data Research Centre at the University of Leeds, we identified 50 of the most at-risk areas for finding affordable food in the UK.
We're calling on supermarkets to commit to clear pricing and better access to budget ranges that enable healthy choices for all.
Do you want to see your supermarket take action to support you through the cost of living crisis? - sign our Affordable Food For All petition
This article has been updated since it was first published.