Cost of living: Shopper compares Costco and Tesco for bulk buys and finds one is 23 cheaper

Publish date: 2024-06-17

A shopper has compared Costco and Tesco for for bulk buys and has found one was a fifth cheaper than the other. Emma Gill, who is a journalist for the Manchester Evening News, went on a mission to bag the best deal.

And while she scouted out her local branches, we have checked with both Costco and Tesco, and they say prices are the same in London. So which is more cost effective for bulk purchases?

In her shopping spree Emma compared the prices of a number of household essentials. The first item was toilet roll, a necessity that has shot up in price recently, and she opted for the largest pack available in both stores.

READ MORE: Tesco shopper furious as he wasn't allowed into store without Clubcard

At Tesco, a 30pack of Cushelle toilet roll cost £13.50. Whereas, at Costco she managed to get a 40-pack of their signature Kirkland for £6.18.

As well as getting more rolls for your money, the Costco offering boasts 240 sheets of three-ply per roll, compared with 180 sheets of two-ply per roll for the Cushelle at Tesco. Almost every item in Emma’s basket was cheaper at the American owned wholesaler than the supermarket giant.

The shop at Costco came to £103.96 - a whopping £23.09 (a fifth) cheaper than Tesco’s bill. Emma found the only item to work out cheaper at Tesco were the cans of fizzy drinks- £7.50 for a 24-pack of Seven Up compared with £11.63 for 24-pack of Diet Coke at Costco.

Although Diet Coke isn’t in Tesco’s bulk buy aisle, it’s 24 pack would still have been less expensive costing £10, Emma said. She also bought Robinsons orange cordial and Coco Pops which were not in the Tesco bulk aisle.

They were exactly the same prices, Emma explains, and Costco was cheaper for both. The Robinsons was reduced with the Tesco Club-Card scheme down from £3.50 a bottle to £2.

However Costco’s offering at £3.58 for two bottles still worked out as a better deal. Emma concluded that there are savings to be made at both stores if buying in bulk. However, even though Tesco has more stores compared to Costco, making it more accessible to shoppers, the wholesaler is typically cheaper for most bulk purchases.

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