Shoppers compete to get best reduced items at Tesco

2022-10-12

Chaos in the aisles in battle for a bargain: Shoppers compete to get best reduced items at Tesco – even before worker has time to put them on the shelves

A TikTok video showed shoppers at Tesco picking through items in discount bins
Shop worker wheels crates towards shelves before he is swamped by customers
He begins unstacking the baskets, but gives up and leaves the battling shoppers
Comes as Brits hit by soaring household bills, mortgages, petrol, and groceries
Figures show shoppers paying average of £643 more on groceries than last year

This is the startling moment Tesco shoppers compete for reduced items from discount bins before staff had even had time to place the yellow-ticketed food on shelves.

Customers are seen crowding round stacked crates and pushing past each other to sift through the discounted items in a video posted on TikTok.

The footage, which highlights the stark reality of the cost of living crisis on UK households, has been viewed 1.6million times.

It shows a Tesco worker wheeling a stack of crates towards empty shelves, but shoppers begin combing the baskets for bargains before he has the chance to begin unloading them.

At one point, he begins to lift a crate from the stack, but customers crowd round him before he reaches the nearby shelves.

The staff member managed to only get three of the crates to the ground before appearing to give up and leaving the shoppers to it.

A shopper is seen sifting through a crate of discounted items in the supermarket before a worker has the chance to place them on the shelves

Shoppers crowd round a crate filled with discounted items just moments after a Tesco worker had place them on the floor

Customers meticulously comb through a stacked crate of baskets as they hunt for a bargain

The owner of the video included text over the footage which read: ‘Reduced items at Tesco. Is this really worth the wait?’

Social media users had mixed responses to the chaotic scenes, with some suggesting that this was a clear consequence of the rising cost-of-living, and others saying that the Tesco worker should have been given space to do his job.

‘Used to deal with this all the time. Don’t understand why people can’t wait 3 seconds for someone to put it out instead of swarming the staff,’ said one user.

Another user said: ‘A lot look older and possibly retired. Makes you wonder what our pensions will do for us!!’

A third added: ‘I can’t even laugh that’s quite sad to watch.’

And a fourth said: ‘If this doesn’t scream cost of living crisis I don’t know what does.’

The staff member managed to only get three of the crates to the ground before appearing to give up and leaving the shoppers to it

The footage comes as hard pressed Brits are hit by a perfect storm of soaring household bills, increasing mortgages, petrol prices, and rising grocery costs.

New figures show shoppers are forking out an average of £643 more on their groceries than last year – after inflation hit 13.9 per cent over September – with some households choosing between food and heat this winter.

This is a record high since marketing data and analytics company Kantar began tracking prices during the 2008 financial crash.

Supermarket own-label lines also increased by 8.1 per cent this month, while branded items declined by 0.7 per cent.

Hard-up shoppers are also turning to wonky fruit and vegetables to help cope with soaring costs.

Shoppers have sent collective sales of ranges including Tesco Perfectly Imperfect and Morrisons Naturally Wonky up 38 per cent last month in an apparent effort to offset soaring bills.

Customers sent collective sales of ranges including Morrisons Naturally Wonky up 38 per cent last month in an apparent effort to offset soaring bills (stock image)

Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, said: ‘The cost-of-living crisis is still hitting people hard at the checkouts and this latest data will make tough reading for many.

‘Of course, consumers are looking for ways to manage budgets and to avoid paying more for their shopping.

‘We’re generally reluctant to change what we eat, so this is more about sticking to the food we know and love while hunting for cheaper alternatives like supermarkets’ own label goods.

‘We aren’t seeing dramatic evidence of diets changing. For example, while frozen veg sales have gone up slightly, there hasn’t been a big switch away from fresh products, which are still worth 10 times more.

‘However, one standout from the data this month was the surge in marmalade sales by 18 per cent as the nation paid its respects to the Queen.’

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