Will your M&S shop from Ocado be cheaper than Waitrose? Which? reveals the brand that’s £2.74 more expensive for a 30-item basket ahead of tomorrow’s launch
- M&S preparing for its goods to officially replace Waitrose’s on Ocado tomorrow
- Has now been crowned the cheapest out of the two brands, according to Which?
- British website compared the cost of 30 grocery and household items from both
M&S is preparing for its products to officially replace Waitrose’s on the Ocado website tomorrow – and it has now been crowned the cheapest out of the two brands, according to Which?.
The British firm has dropped prices to undercut its upmarket rival on thousands of items such as tinned tomatoes and organic cucumbers ahead of its tie-up with Ocado, which cost it £750million.
After comparing the cost of 30 grocery and household items from both firms, Which? found that customers would spend £2.74 less on M&S-branded products than they would for equivalent Waitrose-branded items.
Overall, the M&S basket on Ocado cost £43.84, while Waitrose came in at £46.58.
M&S is preparing for its products to officially replace Waitrose’s on the Ocado website tomorrow – and it has now been crowned the cheapest out of the two brands, according to Which?. Pictured: A 550g British medium cheddar cheese costs £4 at Waitrose, while M&S will only charge customers £2.75
Both the brands are currently available on the online supermarket, with Waitrose items available for delivery until today, and M&S products available from tomorrow.
After comparing the cost of goods such as chopped tomatoes, olive oil and kitchen roll, Which? found the biggest difference in price to be on a block of cheese.
A 550g British medium cheddar cheese costs £4 at Waitrose, while M&S will only charge customers £2.75.
A two-pint bottle of semi-skilled milk also proved to be 4p cheaper at M&S, while a two pack of kitchen roll is 20p less.
However, not all the items are cheaper, despite the brand claiming that it will match or beat the cost of all Waitrose-branded products sold via Ocado, according to Which?.
MailOnline has contacted M&S for comment.
A pack of jumbo cod fish fingers is priced at just £3.25 at Waitrose, 75p less than M&S, while an M&S-branded 750ml bottle of toilet-cleaning gel will cost you 15p more than the Waitrose version.
After comparing the cost of goods such as chopped tomatoes, olive oil (pictured left) and kitchen roll (pictured right), Which? found that customers would spend £2.74 less on M&S-branded products than they would for equivalent Waitrose-branded items
Both the brands are currently available on the online supermarket, with Waitrose items available for delivery until today, and M&S products available from tomorrow. Pictured: Wholemeal bread costs 60p at Waitrose and 65p at M&S
When the deal between M&S and Ocado was announced in February last year, there were questions about how suitable it would be for family weekly shops.
M&S is set to pay Ocado £750million for a 50 per cent share of the new venture, when the online supermarket’s 20-year deal to supply Waitrose products expires.
As part of its tie-up with Ocado, it will put 6,000 of its products online, including replacements for the 4,000 Waitrose products which are available through the online supermarket.
A pack of jumbo cod fish fingers (pictured left) is priced at just £3.25 at Waitrose, 75p less than M&S, while carrots (pictured right) cost 59p at Waitrose and 65p at M&S
M&S has also developed 750 new products, including larger pack sizes, to enable family shoppers to get the same range of products from Ocado as before.
At the same time both firms are ramping up advertising to win over customers who have yet to decide.
An advertising campaign from Waitrose in newspapers and on social media points to its home-grown products which ‘will only be available in our stores and at waitrose.com’.
M&S is also preparing a campaign focusing on value for money and the quality of its offer.