Shopping around: Shropshire supermarket users more likely to search for best deals

According to a Shropshire Star poll, 73 per cent of people say they now shop around to save money, rather than sticking to the same supermarket.

The news comes as major supermarkets recorded a sales slip, as more and more people chose to use discounters like Aldi and Lidl.

Experts say that the ongoing "cost of living" crisis is what is accounting for the changes in shopping habits.

Politicians are saying that rising inflation levels mean that wages are not keeping up with the things that people still need to pay for.

And shoppers in Shropshire are agreeing, with the majority saying they make sure they're getting the best deals from their supermarket.

Margaret Rous from Park Dale in Hadley said she now uses Morrisons as her supermarket of choice because the promotions they offer.

The retired 77-year-old said: "I've always used Morrisons, its very good value.

"They do lots of promotions and on the whole they seem to be a lot cheaper.

"If you're doing a monthly shop and you can pick up all the two for one deals you're making savings all round."

Mrs Rous was shopping with her partner Keith Faulks.

The 74-year-old said though he sticks to Morrisons, he does look at other supermarkets to find the best deals.

"We sometimes go to Tesco to have a look what they've got on offer.

"I like to browse around and see where the bargains are - Aldi is also very good.

"I also shop around for my energy bills, but I tend to stick with NPower because they offer a gas and electricity in one package which tends to be cheaper.

"The Government should look to increase the pensions per week to help with inflation."

Also shopping at the Wrekin Retail Park was 52-year-old Val Smith from Heathlands Close in St Georges, who works as a support worker for a local care company.

She said her company have helped to keep wages in line with inflation, but still shops around to make sure her money goes as far as possible.

"I shop around, I used to use Asda all the time but now I do try out different ones," she explained. "I use Aldi for milk and fruit and vegetables because of the quality and the price but I tend to stick with Asda for my big shop, but that's not as big as it used to be.

"Because I work in Ketley, I often come to Tesco on the retail park in my lunchtime because I can find the bargains out.

"Money isn't going as far as it used to, I have pets as well so it's things like pet food and washing power that are going up.

"Petrol as well, I have to travel for my job and, though I can claim it back, I still have to put the petrol in. I do use Asda for my petrol though, when I go in for my shop I take the opportunity to fill up.

"It's to do with inflation, the company I work for are really good and they have been giving us a percentage increase but I know most don't.

"Its still not enough, especially to cover things like gas and electricity."

Housewife Lynn Draycott from Perton said she shops around more and more to find the best deals.

The 57-year-old said: "I definitely look around more.

"The nearest supermarket to us is Sainsbury's but we've started to use Tesco because I can use my Clubcard and that gets me money off vouchers.

"I find it is a big help and gives you an incentive to shop there.

"We've also had a new Lidl open up which I find is good price and has widened up the variety of food it sells.

"There's no loyalty in customers any more, it's all about finding the cheapest for however long and moving onto the next deal.

"Things like our cash ISAs my husband looks at quite often to make sure we're getting the most out of them."

Thirty-year-old Michelle Porton from Red Hill, who works as a business trainer, said she has stuck with Asda throughout the recession.

"I pretty much always go to Asda," she said. "It is nearer to me so I don't have to go so far, which saves fuel, and to be fair it is usually cheaper.

"My mum uses Aldi all the time now but I don't really bother.

"Everything is definitely getting more expensive, I remember when bread was 50p, now it is something like £1.10.

"But I think prices are one of those things, you can't control the weather.

"This year we've had a lot of bad weather so the farmers have put their costs up which affects prices, and you can't do much when that happens.

"Tax is up to the Government to sort out, they should do more to stop kids having kids and do more to reduce our fuel bills.

"The price of beer as well has kept going up as well which means people can't afford to use the pubs, so they're closing and people are losing their jobs."

Retired couple David and Jennifer Gibbon say they have been using discount chain Aldi for a while.

"We used to go to Sainsbury's," said 68-year-old Mr Gibbon. "But the stuff wasn't really what we wanted so now we shop at Aldi.

"The portions are smaller but when there are just the two of us at home that doesn't matter."

Sixty-nine-year-old Mrs Gibbon said: "The price of things have gone up so the cost of living has gone up."

Fellow pensioner Michael Davey from Albrighton said he has no loyalty when it comes to supermarkets.

The 71-year-old said: "I tend to move around, wherever is on the way for me, I have no preference.

"More and more I tend to shop in the village, I walk down in the morning and see what's on offer.

"I have used Aldi and Lidl, but only when its a case that they're on the way.

"To me they're all the same but they're all good value.

"The prices of things keep going down but they're cutting down on the quantity.

"I bought a box of gardening stuff the other day and it was no more than half full.

"The tins of chocolate at Christmas used to be 1,000g and now they're something like 760g but they still cost £5."

Houswife Linda Thomas from Madeley said she thinks that more prices should be capped in the supermarkets.

The 30-year-old said: "I do shop around, because of price, it is good to get a bargain.

"We use Tesco for most of our shopping because it is closer to us but we get a few bits from Aldi because it's cheaper.

"I've definitely noticed the cost of food is rising, same as petrol and all the household bills.

"I think more should be done to keep prices down, like Teso have made things like milk and butter £1 and said that that's where they will stay.

"I think they should do that on more basic items."

In May, the supermarket industry showed its slowest growth for 11 years.

Only Walmart-owned Asda saw its share of the grocery market rise to 17.1 per cent from 17 per cent a year ago, according to figures from Kantar Worldpanel.

The other three major supermarkets - Tesco, Sainsbury's and Morrisons - all saw their market shares slip in the 12 weeks to May 25, compared to the same time year ago.

But June has showed some movement back into the industry as Kantar recorded latest grocery share figures for the 12 weeks ending 22 June 2014 showing market growth bouncing back to 2.8 per cent from last period's historic low of 1.7 per cent.

Fraser McKevitt, from the company said: "Aldi and Lidl continue their stellar growth streaks, holding their all-time record shares reached last period of 4.7 per cent and 3.6 per cent respectively. "Both retailers have recently announced impressive expansion plans.

"Aldi will aim to double its store numbers to 1,000 by 2021, while Lidl is seeking to boost its presence with an eventual total of 1,500 outlets."

Outside the big four supermarkets, Waitrose and Farmfoods are both continuing to perform strongly with the latter growing ahead of the market at 23.3 per cent.

Iceland also held its two per cent market share in line with last year.

Mr McKevitt said: "There are mixed fortunes for the big four with Tesco and Morrisons registering falls in both share and sales.

"By contrast, both Asda and Sainsbury's have increased share, beating the market average with growth rates of 3.6 per cent and 3 per cent respectively."

The big four supermarkets continue to be squeezed between discount retailers such as Aldi and Lidl and upmarket rivals such as Waitrose.