A mooney-saving mum compared the prices of essential items at M&S and Lidl and discovered the difference was less than she expected.
Money-saving pro Gemma Bird, perhaps better known as the Money Mum on social media, recently price-compared the two supermarket giants to see if one was a difference in prices.
Taking to Instagram, Gemma shared a video of her experiment, which she captioned: “So I went into M&M and Lidl and thought I’ll pick 4 random items we all use.
“What I was thinking was cost getting to a store if you don’t have a Lidl near you and M&S is on the door step for couple of bits by the time you pay petrol, would we save that much?
“I based this on the cheapest item I could find. So the most basic line in both stores so it would be fair.”
The first item Gemma price-compared were cucumbers, costing 89p in Lidl, and just one penny more at M&S with a price of 90p.
Next Gemma pointed out that Lidl’s own-brand baked beans were a low 28p, while M&S’s were bit more expensive at 45p. However, she was quick to note: “Now the beans are a big saving but I have to say the beans are a lot nicer in M&S.”
Checking the prices of cheddar cheese, the money-saving expert shared that Lidl’s costs £6.73 per kg, and M&S’s came to £7.27 per kg, so the latter came out less than a pound more.
The final item, Gemma price compared was butter spreads, with Lidl’s coming out at 95p and M&S’s at just £1.
Gemma’s followers were quick to comment on the video, with some sharing their thoughts on the price difference, with one writing: “I’m finding M&S are similar in price to most supermarkets now including Aldi, Asda and Tesco.”
While a second penned: “I honestly thought the difference would be huge but this goes to show.”
However, some pointed out that going to M&S often ends up costing more as they end up being tempted to buy other items, rather than just the one’s they’ve gone in for. And while this may be true for Lidl too, the price difference becomes a lot clearer in this case.
One quipped: “It’s not the essentials that have a massive price difference, more so when you go in for milk and come out with £20 of snacks and picky bits.” To which another shopper joked that sometimes when going to M&S for some groceries, they’ve ended up leaving with a dress too.
