Having spent four years working at Tesco, I was frequently assigned to mark down fresh items to mere pennies at the end of the day. However, it’s not just Tesco that slashes prices throughout the day. Other supermarkets, including Asda, Sainsbury’s, Aldi, and Morrisons, also reduce the prices of their goods. Typically, these items are approaching their best-before date or are being phased out.
Supermarkets often have a clearance section in one of their fresh food aisles, which is clearly marked or filled with items marked with yellow stickers. But this does differ from store to store. During my tenure at Tesco, I regularly saw ready meals, milk, bread, cream doughnuts, salads, sushi, and sandwiches reduced to mere pennies at the end of the day, reports the Express.
When does Tesco reduce its food items?
Reduction times will vary from shop to shop and depend on the store’s level of activity and the number of staff members on duty that day.
I’ve worked in a seasonal store that is bustling in the summer and quiet in the winter, and I’ve also worked in a busy central London store where I was often run off my feet.
While we would aim to start reductions at certain times, during busy periods, we were sometimes delayed.
If you’re unsure about when your local store applies its discounts, you can ask a member of staff in-store.
Most of the products I used to mark down were fresh goods such as milk, bread, ready meals and bags of salad, but occasionally you would discover large joints of meat, fish and even items from the Tesco Finest range being discounted.
The majority of these products were marked down because they were approaching their expiry date that day, but that doesn’t mean you need to eat them immediately.
Many of the goods, particularly bread and milk, are perfect for freezing.
During my time at Tesco, they would conduct three rounds of markdowns beginning around 9am/10am, during which certain products would be discounted by 10%.
Products would then be marked down further by 30%, 50%, and occasionally even 90% towards the close of business.
One of the optimal times to shop is during the evening, between 6pm and 8pm, when final markdowns are applied.
The later in the day you visit, the more likely you are to discover a substantial discount.
However, you don’t want to delay too long, particularly if it’s a bustling store, as most of the bargains get purchased quickly.
Earlier this year, Tesco launched a new wave of markdowns at 7pm to tackle food waste.
A Tesco spokesperson previously confirmed to Express.co.uk that whilst the discount is typically around 7pm, it can differ by store, adding: “Markdowns on fresh products continue to be popular and help to prevent good food from going to waste.”
