MOST shoppers will only splash out at posh supermarket Marks and Spencer on special occasions.
That usually means saving up for the store’s iconic glitter gin globes at Christmas or the latest Percy Pig merch – but we’ve got tips to help make your M&S budget stretch further.
1
You can make the most of all the best multibuy offers, plus one ex-supermarket worker has given us the inside scoop on when is the best time to bag reduced foodie bits.
Some shoppers have even found they had hidden “freebies” sitting in their Sparks accounts, so it’s worth a check if you have one.
Plus the ever-popular “dine in” deal is back this weekend, just in time to treat mum, so we reveal how to take advantage of the limited time offer.
Read on to find out five different different ways you can cut costs at M&S.
Freebie finds
Shoppers at Marks and Spencer have revealed in the past how they bagged freebies at the store with hidden reward points.
At Christmas, one shopper shared how she managed to claim a Percy Pig novelty biscuit tin worth £5 for free.
She revealed how an email sent to her M&S reward address contained a “free gift” that she could add to her account.
Most read in Money
You used to be able to earn points for every purchase made at the store, but M&S scrapped the system in favour of sending loyal customers money off their shop and the occasional free gift.
So it’s worth checking your account if you are signed up to see what you might be able to claim on your next shop.
Bargain hunters claim that prizes are randomised though, and sometimes it can be determined by how much you spend at the shop.
One said previously: “I had free piggy wrapping paper last time, and today I got free chocolate Colin Caterpillars.”
But another was disappointed, adding: “Not everyone gets the same offers, I’ve not had anything good for ages.”
Dine in, done right
One of M&S’ most popular deals is the Dine in for two range.
Typically it’ll be a weekly offer that costs £10 (although the price recently went up to £12), but on big occasions the deal is a little pricier.
On Valentine’s Day last month, the store offered a Dine in deal for £20, for example.
The menu included items like melting camembert, sirloin steak and prosecco – and it would have normally cost shoppers up to £16.50 more to buy outside of the limited time deal.
The deal can be a good way to get all the things you need for the perfect meal for a set price – and you can save a bundle if you pick the priciest items.
With Mother’s Day coming up this weekend, the Dine in for £20 deal has returned.
The deal this weekend deal includes a roasting Main, three sides, and a sharing Dessert all for £20 that the whole family can enjoy.
A £20 deal is still quite steep for most budgets though, so another tip is to leave it until AFTER the weekend to splash out.
After Valentine’s this year, M&S slashed the price of its romantic Dine in for Two in half.
That made it a £10 bargain for all the same goodies, but it means hanging fire on the celebrations for a few days.
The only thing you’ll have to keep in mind is that there might not be as much to choose from and stock just depends on what’s been left over from the event – this means it can vary from store to store.
Sale away
The store, while having higher prices than budget rivals most of time, is no stranger to sales of its own.
Just last week it launched a huge clothing sale where shoppers could get as much as 90% off.
Leggings and tops started from just 99p and you could get some underwear for 49p too.
On Facebook page Extreme Couponing and Bargains UK shoppers revealed how they managed to snag the best deals at the store.
One wrote: “M&S have 90% sales on. Got daughter some leggings and tops for 99p each and woman’s underwear from 49p each. Lots of bargains in baby grows etc.”
Another said: “The upstairs neighbour went to their 90% sale last year or year before and came back with bags and bags of stuff for so cheap!”
“There was at 90% off in both of my ones in town,” said a third.
Now that the weather is starting to warm up most shops, including M&S will be trying to pedal all their winter stock, so it’s the best time to bag jumpers and coats and more cor cheap in the spring sales.
But remember its only a bargain if you were planning on buying it anyway – you shouldn’t splash out just because something has been reduced.
Major in multibuys
No trip to Marks and Spencers is complete without throwing into your basket one or two packets of Percy Pigs or Colin the Caterpillar sweets.
And the latter is exactly what you SHOULD do when you splash out on the sweets.
M&S always offers the treats in a two for £3 deal, so it pays to buy in pairs if you’re stocking up.
On their own each packet can cost around £1.65, so you save at least 30p in the multibuy offer.
But if you don’t need two or more packets, don’t buy double the amount for the sake of the multibuy offer – you might go over budget.
Stick ’em up
Yellow sticker bargains are like gold dust to some shoppers.
Supermarkets, including M&S, will often reduce the price of food nearing its use by date to shift stock and avoid food wastage – and the store will flag these discounts with yellow stickers.
Sometimes shoppers can save up to 75% off products marked up in this way, so it’s worth keeping an eye out in the store.
An ex-M&S worker told The Sun that late afternoon is when you’ll face the best chance of picking up the bargains.
23-year-old Emily Barker, who worked at the Birmingham branch of the posh supermarket in 2021, said: “They do second reductions (so yellow stickers to shoppers) later on in the day.
“So if you go then, the stuff that’s got today’s date, or that day’s date on it, will be cheap.”
Of course it can vary by store, and shoppers will always flock to snap up yellow sticker bargains in a flash, so what’s on offer in your local store might differ to others and availability could be limited.
You can also have a shop around at rival stores if you’re trying to cut down the cost of your grocery shop.
M&S isn’t know as the cheapest in the first place, so any bargains you manage to bag still might be more expensive than ones from competitors.
We’ve got all the tips you need to know about how to bag a bargain at Aldi for example, if you give the budget supermarket a go instead.
And we’ve also rounded up how to find the best deals at Tesco, if you take your shopping list to the cheaper store.
We pay for your stories!
Do you have a story for The Sun Online Money team?
