Shopping basket comparison

One of the most widespread pro-Tesco arguments you may hear is that the supermarket giant brings cheaper goods to the high street.

We decided to test this claim by comparing the prices of goods in an average shopping basket at a Tesco Express store with prices in shops already along Mill Road. The goods (see list below) range from a two pint bottle of semi-skimmed milk to a 500ml bottle of washing up liquid, from a loaf of white sliced bread to a four pack of toilet roll. We calculated the total price of the shopping for the nearest Tesco Express (in Cherry Hinton). And for those who visit the local shops in Mill Road, we calculated how much it would cost to put together the same basket of goods by visiting the shops immediately around the proposed Tesco site (Hilarys, Londis, Yasrab, Bangla Bazar, Co-op).

The results speak for themselves:

Cherry Hinton Tesco Express : £33.70
Shopping from a collection of local shops (Hilarys, Bangla Bazar, Yasrab, Londis, Co-op) : £29.91

Prices correct on 4th and 5th October 2007.

Despite Tesco’s claims, these everyday items actually cost MORE in a Tesco Express than they do from the local shops on Mill Road!

The savvy Mill Road shopper can buy this basket of goods from our existing local traders for a whopping £3.79 less than at a Tesco Express store. This is a difference of 13%! Of course, that extra profit is whisked straight out of our local community.

For those who prefer to shop in one store, the existing Mill Road Co-op also appears to be cheaper than a Tesco Express store would be. A Co-op basket costs £32.57 - that’s £1.13 less than the same goods would at a Tesco Express store. And the chocolate muffins you would get at the Co-op are even Fairtrade!!

Here was our shopping basket:

  • Two pints semi skimmed milk
  • A loaf of sliced white bread - Hovis
  • One kilo onions
  • A kilo of broccoli
  • One red pepper
  • 6 Braeburn apples
  • 500g Fusilli pasta
  • 1 tin tomatoes
  • Cheddar cheese, medium, 300g
  • One four pack toilet roll Velvet
  • One pack Mcvities rich tea biscuits 300g
  • One litre orange juice
  • One bunch carnations
  • One whole chicken- small/kg
  • One box Cadburys fingers
  • One 500ml bottle of Fairy
  • 4 Chocolate muffins
  • J. Creek Semillon chardonnay 75cl
  • One 4 pack Fosters
  • 6 pack free range eggs medium
  • 1kg Long Grain rice