During lunch yesterday, I asked a colleague who cooks often if her marketing bill has increased in light of the recent price hikes. She told me, ironically, her food bills are now cheaper as she now does her marketing in the hypermarkets instead of Cold Storage supermarket! Sometimes, it’s amazing how a small little switch like that can save us money. Although it may just seem a little, these small savings all add up over time to be a rather substantial amount!

We used to do our marketing in Giant, Tesco or Carrefour previously. They do have cheap daily deals which they advertise in the newspapers everyday. Sometimes chicken there can be as cheap as RM3.50/kg when the retail price is hovering around RM6/kg. These cheaper or promotional goods tend to act as loss leaders to attract shoppers in, while the retailer hopes they will spend on additional non-promotional items which may or may not be cheaper than their competitors. However,  based on my personal experience, it does pay to be a little more aware whilst shopping in these hypermarkets as the freshness of the food is sometimes compromised. So, which are the best hypermarkets to shop in?

We used to have access to all 3 main hypermarkets – Giant, Tesco and Carrefour. Tesco was always our hypermarket of choice simply because their fresh food was better. The fish in Tesco were always very fresh and bright-eyed, especially if you went there in the mornings and the areas where their fish and chicken was sold was always very clean and without any foul smells. Even the area where they cleaned your fish (for free!) was clean and white which made marketing a very pleasant experience. Giant USJ, on the other hand, used to be quite grubby. Their wet market floor area was always dirty and we used to be assailed by the faint smell of rotting or spoilt food whenever we were there. I went there after work once to buy some chicken and realised at the checkout that the pack I had taken was starting to spoil! The smell was terrible! Carrefour strikes a happy medium and while their areas are also clean without unpleasant smells, their fish sometimes is less fresh compared to Tesco.

When doing your wet marketing in the hypermarkets, it does pay to be there earlier in the morning as they restock their food then so it tends to be fresher, right out of the cold rooms. That way you have less crowds and less contamination from hands touching or poking the fish or chicken. Do also take advantage of the free services they offer such as free fish cleaning or even some cooking services in some hypermarkets! All hypermarkets also offer cash back guarantees if their promotional items are found cheaper in their competitor hypermarkets, some up to double the price difference! Most hypermarkets provide free carparks although I remember the Giant in USJ charging some ridiculous amounts if people parked there but couldn’t produce a shopping receipt from Giant!

So do consider marketing at the hypermarket instead of the supermarket and you’ll be surprised at how much you might be able to save! Their daily and weekly specials are available on their websites and easily available in colourful brochures at the entrance of their stores so do check what’s on special before you buy! Just remember to bring your own bags if you wish to avoid using plastic bags to help the environment a little!