SHOPPERS are being hit by rocketing food prices – but an ex-Morrisons worker has shared his secrets to nabbing the best deals EVERY time.
Dubbed the “yellow sticker man”, Al Baker, 48, from Aldershot, worked for just over two years at the supermarket.
His job was to knock down the price of food nearing its sell by date – and has revealed his top tips for perfecting your bargain hunting.
You can often save up to 75% off yellow sticker items – they are reduced so supermarkets can shift stock quick.
He said that more and more shoppers are turning to yellow sticker shopping as a cost of living crisis squeezes budgets.
Al started working at his local Morrisons in 2020 after he was furloughed from his job in ecommerce, and noticed a dozen or so customers would come in regularly hunting for yellow sticker offers.
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But he said this has gone up to 50 or 60 shoppers – and reckons it’s because shoppers are looking to save as much cash as they can as bills soar.
He hung up his scanner and sticker gun two weeks ago to focus growing his finance blog, The Penny Pincher – and has told The Sun about the yellow sticker secrets you need to know about.
His tips will come in handy as households have been warned grocery bills are set to rise by £271 a year.
Latest figures show that the price of some essentials have rocketed by 37%.
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If you want to use Al’s tips but you’re not sure where your local branch is, use the supermarket’s branch locator tool.
Exactly WHEN to go shopping
Timing is everything when it comes to getting the best yellow sticker offers, Al said.
He claimed that it’s standard across most Morrisons stores to reduce the cost of items at specific times of the day.
“There’s two reductions – one reduction happens at 9pm right before shops close, when 15-20% is taken off.
“Bargain hunters will clear the shelves a bit when the following morning comes around, and staff will go around afterwards and reduce food that is going out of date the next day.
“This last reduction happens at around 6:30pm to 7pm – you can get 90% off at this time.”
Shop with pals
You might think shopping for yellow sticker items is a task best done alone – but if you’re doing it at Morrisons, bring your friends, Al said.
“All the departments – butchery, delicatessen, bakery, fruit and veg and then ready meals – discount items at the same time.
“So go with friends and spread out across the store to get all the best deals.”
You won’t have time to whizz around all the aisles alone and pick up the best deals – there’s lots of competition, so the best bits are picked up quickly.
So shop as part of a group and share among you what you managed to pick up.
Don’t buy too much
With shoppers pounding the aisles for bargains, competition for bargains can be fierce and you may be tempted to put as many discounted groceries as you can into your trolley.
But Al said you should resist the pressure and think carefully about what you’re buying.
“I’ve done it loads of times – you fill your basket up and you realise that those items are going out of date that day and you don’t have enough room in the freezer to store it all.
“Things like potatoes are fine, but if you don’t have enough room in the freezer to store packets of mince, for example, you’re not saving money – you’re wasting money by throwing it away.”
A good way of avoiding falling into this trap is to get clued up on the difference between “use by” and “sell by” dates to help you track when you need to eat your food by.
“Use by dates mean you have to use it in that time period, while sell by date is different – food can be eaten if it goes beyond that date, but might not be as high quality.”
Go on Christmas Eve
You might think Christmas Eve is for snuggling up on the sofa and calming down any over-excited little ones.
But you might want to nip to your local supermarket to bag some epic discounts.
“I didn’t get lucky last year, but the year before, I got a turkey on Christmas Eve that was £7 down from £50.”
You could also get your veg for much lower prices too – which means you could, if you’re lucky, get your Christmas dinner ingredients in for a lot less than usual.
Hit up Too Good To Go
Customers can bag themselves £15 worth of food for just £3.09 if you use the Too Good To Go app, Al said.
The app works by letting shops list excess food that was only going to be thrown away at heavily discounted prices.
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You can pick up a “mystery bag” of goodies which usually contains staples like fruit, veg and bread.
“It’s a good way of saving money – but it is popular, so you have to act quick to get them,” he said.
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