Tesco extends 'Clubcard Prices' – but are they any good?
Including up to 50% off veg, snacks, cereal, skincare, booze & more
With a second lockdown already in progress in Wales, and coming in England, many people who may have gone back to shopping in stores are likely to shop online again. With Tesco having the largest share of the online shopping market, we're taking a look at its flagship offer – 'Clubcard Prices' – and asking... are they any good?
What is the offer, and how do you get it?
Tesco brought back its 'Clubcard Prices' promo permanently in mid-September – offering up to 50% off selected items for members of its Clubcard loyalty scheme. The discounts were only on about 200 frozen products (see our Tesco Clubcard prices are back MSE News story), but it's extended this to 300ish items and now includes veg, snacks, household items, booze and more.
You have to be signed up to Clubcard, which is free to join online at Tesco* or via the Clubcard app*. Discounts will be automatically deducted when you buy an eligible product online for delivery or click and collect, or from a Tesco store (excluding smaller Express stores). Products in the Clubcard promo are clearly marked in stores and online – see current Clubcard Prices*.
What are some examples of products currently in the offer?
| Product | Usual price | Clubcard price | Discount | Is Tesco cheapest? | Offer end date |
| Pizza Express Giardiniera vegan pizza | £5 | £4 | 20% | 🟢 Yes – £5 at Ocado | Wed 25 Nov |
| Pizza Express margherita pizza | £5 | £2.50 | 50% | 🟡 Same – £2.50 at Sainsbury's | Wed 25 Nov |
| Rosedene Farms gala apples six pack | 99p | 79p | 21% | 🔴 No – 49p at Aldi | Tue 10 Nov |
| Quality Street 232g carton | £3 | £1.50 | 50% | 🟢 Yes – £2 at Sainsbury's for 240g box | Wed 11 Nov |
| Linda McCartney six vegetarian sausages | £2.20 | £1.25 | 50% | 🟡 Same – £1.25 at Sainsbury's | Tue 17 Nov |
| Tesco salad tomatoes six pack | 75p | 49p | 35% | 🟢 Yes – 67p at Aldi | Tue 10 Nov |
| Tesco ready-to-eat medium avocados (each) | 75p | 49p | 35% | 🟢 Yes – 75p at Aldi | Tue 10 Nov |
| Absolut vodka, 1L | £25.50 | £18 | 29% | 🟢 Yes – £20 at Asda/Sainsbury's | Tue 17 Nov |
| Nivea 'Pamper Me' gift bag | £12 | £6 | 50% | 🟢 Yes – similar is £7 at Boots/Superdrug | Fri 25 Dec |
| Nivea Men 'Everyday Ready Kit' gift set | £10 | £5 | 50% | 🟡 Same – £5 at Boots/Wilko | Fri 25 Dec |
How good is the offer?
The table above shows 10 items chosen at random on Tuesday 3 November. I found plenty of items at 50% off, though some were only discounted by as little as 10%-20%. Only one item was cheaper elsewhere (marked with a 🔴), three were the same price (marked with a 🟡), and six were cheaper at Tesco when using this offer (marked with a 🟢).
When we checked the same size sample of products in September (when only frozen items were included), eight out of the 10 were cheapest, and two were the same price elsewhere – so the promotion is generally good value if it includes products you were going to buy anyway, and now that it includes more than frozen food it's likely to be worthwhile for more people.
Tesco recently introduced a flat rate of £1.50 per collection order, and £4.50 (sometimes more) per delivery order – so if you shop online you'll need to take these prices into account versus any savings you might make. See our Tesco axes cheap delivery slots MSE News story for more information.
Discounts for dairy-free or gluten-free generally aren't as strong
The promotion does include dairy-free or gluten-free options, though the discount on the ones I saw wasn't as strong. As you can see in the table above, the dairy-free and vegan Pizza Express pizza is only discounted by £1, whereas the dairy Pizza Express pizza is discounted by £2.50. So if you're vegetarian, vegan, dairy or gluten-free then you might struggle to find items in this offer that are suitable, so your shop may be cheaper elsewhere, but it's worth a look online to check what's available.
Does Tesco have any other offers?
Tesco also extended its Aldi price-match campaign – which matches the price of 500+ own-brand and branded items found in Aldi stores. A full list of items included can be found online at Tesco.
Personally, as someone who likes to cook from scratch to save money, this offer has been more useful to me than the Clubcard Prices promotion as it's on a range of fruit and vegetables that I usually buy. Before the pandemic, I would normally have shopped in store at Aldi due to its 'Super Six' range of cheap fruit and vegetables, so I frequently make use of this offer.
How to max this deal: My top tip when shopping online using this offer is to ensure the 'accept substitutions' box is ticked, as you'll still pay the Aldi price-match offer price even if your substituted item is more expensive.
Have you used the Tesco Clubcard Prices offer? What do you think of it? Do you have any more tips on reducing the cost of your shop? Let me know in the comments below, or on Twitter.
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