SHOPPERS buying popular health products can save up to half the price by simply buying at the right time of year.
From toothpaste to deodorant, the cost of personal care products can vary widely from week to week, according to research by consumer campaign group Which? showed
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Big price swings were found for top-selling brands across 15 products at high street stores, including Boots, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Superdrug, Tesco and Aldi.
Who? tracked costs between March 2023 and February this year, excluding multi-buy offers and loyalty awards.
The study found that products are regularly on a promotional cycle, and shoppers could get good deals if they shop around for health products — and stock up when the price is right.
For example, shoppers can get the best deals on sunscreen during spring and summer, when demand is typically highest.
The biggest price difference was found at Asda, where Nivea Protect and Moisture Sun Lotion SPF 30 (200ml) cost £6 from April to August 2023 and then more than doubled to £13 in September.
Everyday goods such as toothpaste also saw a large price movement.
Colgate Max White Ultimate Radiance toothpaste has cost from £11 to £25.20 in Waitrose all year, while Asda and Boots regularly sell for £12.
Elsewhere, Listerine Advanced Defense Gum Crisp Mint mouthwash was just £3 and up to £6 in Boots.
Sure Maximum Protection Clean Scent Anti-Perspirant is between £3.35 and £5 at Asda and £3.50 and £5.25 at Waitrose.
Drastic differences in the cost of shaving have also been noted.
The Gillette Labs razor with exfoliating bar was £22.49 at Morrisons when it was full price but was often reduced to half that amount to £11.25.
Allergy medicines also had significant price differences.
A pack of 30 Piriteze Hayfever and Allergy Relief Tablets at Waitrose has been reduced from £11.50 to £8 from May to July 2023 and £11.55 thereafter.
The most stable prices were found for the popular soap brands Carex and Palmolive, as well as for Radox shower gel.
How to get a good price
SUN Savers editor Lana Clements explains how to find an item on sale and get a bargain…
Sign up for loyalty programs of brands you regularly shop at.
Big names regularly offer discounts or special lower prices for members, among other things.
Selling is when you can pick up a real steal.
Retailers usually have regular promotions leading up to payday at the end of the month or bank holiday weekends, so keep an eye out and shop when these deals are active.
Sign up for email lists and you’ll also be the first to know about special offers. It can also pay to follow the seller on social media.
When shopping online always look out for cashback codes or vouchers to use vouchercodes.co.uk and myvouchercodes.co.uk are just two sites that round up promotions by retailer.
A scanner app is useful to have on your phone. The Trolley.co.uk app has a scanner that you can use to compare the prices of branded items when shopping.
Bargain hunters can also use B&M’s in-app scanner to find in-store discounts before staff flag them down.
And always check before you pay to see if you can get cashback, which basically means you get some of your money back or a discount on an item.
One of the more expensive health products Consumer Champion looked at was condoms.
A 12-pack of Durex Real Feel Non Latex condoms ranged between £11 and £18.15 at Waitrose over the year.
The same product fluctuated by £5.50 at Superdrug and £5 at Boots compared to their best in-store offers.
After comparing 107 similar health and personal care products with Boots, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsburys, Superdrug, Tesco and Waitrose over the course of a year, Asda was found to be the cheapest supermarket overall for health products.
Ele Clark, retail editor, said: “Retailers are constantly changing product prices based on demand, seasonality, agreements with manufacturers and what their competitors are doing.
“What advice in this rapidly changing market is to monitor the prices of products you buy regularly and stock up when the price is low – or ask yourself if it’s really necessary to have a preferred brand and consider switching to a cheaper product. which can do just as good a job.”
Grab the best deals
Just because something is on offer or part of a sale doesn’t mean it’s always a good deal.
There are plenty of comparison sites that will check prices for you – so you don’t end up paying more than you have to.
Most of them work by comparing prices across hundreds of sellers.
Here are some we recommend:
- Google Shopping is a tool that allows users to search and compare product prices across the web. Simply enter keywords or a product number and search results will appear.
- Price Spy records a history of how much something costs from over 3,000 different retailers, including Argos, Amazon, eBay and supermarkets. Once you’ve selected an individual product, you can quickly compare which stores have the best price and which stores have it in stock.
- Ideal is another site that allows you to compare prices between retailers. All shoppers need to do is search for the item they need and the site will rank them from cheapest to most expensive.
- CamelCamelCameI only work on items sold on Amazon. To use it, enter the URL of the product whose price you want to check.
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