You'd be mad not to! (mysupermarket.co.uk)

Member Name: bollinger28

Product:	mysupermarket.co.uk
Date:	02/04/08 (1047 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great price and health checker. Loyalty points. Absolutely free to use.

Disadvantages: I really cannot think of any whatsoever.

If you dislike that weekly supermarket shopping trip as much as I do, you've probably been using one of the big four's websites to do most of the work for you for a wee while now. I don't begrudge paying that £2.50/£5.00 delivery fee to have my shopping brought direct to my door, simply because it saves me the time, and more importantly the stress, of that big weekly shop. Queuing to park and leave, checkout meltdown, other people's kids and avoiding being rammed by someone else's out of control trolley all add up to one big fat nightmare in my book. It's much nicer to sit in the comfort of your own home and choose the things you want to be delivered at a time that suits you. I am, therefore, a total convert to the world of home delivery services.

My supermarket of choice tends to be Sainsburys, as it's not as expensive as Waitrose/Ocado, but the quality of a lot of their stuff tends to be better than Tesco or Asda. You might disagree, and I would imagine that Tesco and Asda probably work out cheaper, but Sainsburys tend to hit the right buttons for me. The only niggle with online supermarket shopping is that until recently it was nigh on impossible to earn any cashback like you can with many other websites. Shop at Comet or Amazon or Argos, and I can guarantee you'll find a cashback site somewhere on the internet that will "give" you back 1%, 2%, 5% or even 10% of the amount you've spent. Sadly, I've yet to find any reward or loyalty site that will give you cashback for your weekly supermarket shop (other than perhaps an initial fee for registering and doing your first shop). However, that's all changed with the advent of www.mysupermarket.co.uk. This handy little site, not only rewards you for doing your supermarket shop online through them, it also helps you find cheaper deals and healthier alternatives. If you do your weekly shop online with either Tesco, Sainsburys, Waitrose/Ocado or Asda, and you're not already using this site, then you really must check it out. It really does pay you to shop through this site.


~~ What's My Supermarket all about? ~~

I first noticed My Supermaket on www.ipoints.co.uk last year sometime from one of their numerous spam like emails. I didn't pay a great deal of attention to it, and came away with some half-baked idea that My Supermarket physically did your weekly shop for you by visiting one of the four main supermarkets and getting the things you wanted at the cheapest prices. Of course, like most half-baked ideas, I'd gone and got hold of the wrong end of the stick.

In a nutshell, My Supermarket is a price comparison site for your supermarket shopping. Their aim is to help get shoppers the best possible prices for their supermarket shop. It claims to be a wholly impartial and independent website, with none of the supermarkets (or product manufacturers) owning any stake in the company. Indeed, if you read further details about them on their website they claim to be a private company owned by a group of private British investors and My Supermarket employees. One thing that does puzzle me though, is how they support themselves. I can't quite work out how they fund themselves and where their profits would be coming from. The site is free to join and free to use - there is no charge for any of their services. Similarly, there's no advertising at all on the site, and if they are as independent as they claim, they're not going to be taking any sponsorship or back-handers from one of the big four supermarkets. If anyone would care to enlighten me as to how My Supermarket make a profit from their website, I'd be most appreciative.


~~ Top Tip to earn even more from your online shop ~~

If you do your supermarket shopping online and you like the idea of My Supermarket, before you sign up, stop and have a think. Are you a current member of any cashback or loyalty sites? If you are, then chances are that your particular cashback site might be offering points or cash in you sign up (and do your first shop) through their link. I'm not a member of an enormous amount of cashback sites (as I find all that daily clicking beyond tedious), but taking a quick recee through the ones I do know, I've noticed that Rpoints, Cashback Kings, ipoints and Greasy Palm all offer you points or cash if you join My Supermarket through their link.

Added to which, if you join My Supermarket via ipoints, they not only give you 400 ipoints for initially signing up and doing your first shop, you also earn 1 ipoint for every £ you spend on each subsequent shop. And to coin a phrase from a very well known supermarket, "every little helps".... As an added bonus, you can also earn additional ipoints for featured products on the My Supermarket homepage called the ipoints Bonus Shelf. However, do bear in mind that it's only ever a bargain if you actually wanted the product in the first place!


~~ Joining up with My Supermarket ~~

Joining My Supermarket is totally free and the site is extremely simple to use. You just click on the "Register" link and fill in a simple online form giving your name, address and email address. You chose a password for your account and off you go. You can choose whether you want to receive personalized updates and special offers from the site (I declined - I get enough spam as it is!). Once you've joined you'll get a welcome email from My Supermarket confirming your account details.


~~ The Website ~~

To start shopping via this site you first log into your My Supermarket account. You then choose which supermarket you want to shop at from either Asda, Ocado / Waitrose, Sainsbury or Tesco. You tick your preferred supermarket, you choose your delivery time / date, and then you start your shop. If you're not sure which supermarket you want to use, you can enter your postcode to see who actually delivers in your area.

My Supermarket is updated on a daily basis so that the prices shown are the most competitive. Once you've made your choice of store, you start to shop by using the handy tabbed choices along the top of the page. These are divided up into "virtual aisles" so you can make your choice from Fruit and Veg, Meat, Fish & Poultry, or Drinks and so on. Similarly, if you've already got an online account with your supermarket of choice you can log into that account and it will display your previous favourites on the My Supermarket pages. It really is an incredibly nifty and easy to use site.

When find the item you want you just need to click on it once, and it's added to your trolley. The product will become highlighted with a plus or minus sign displayed underneath so you can add another one, or remove it completely from your virtual trolley.

As you are doing your shop, the cumulative total spend of your trolley will display at the top of the page. One interesting thing to note is that although you may be doing your shopping with Sainsburys, you will be given the total cost of an identical shop with Tesco, Asda or Ocado at the top of the page as well, so that you can see just how much cheaper (or dearer) it would be to shop elsewhere. From experience, I'd say Asda or Tesco nearly always come out cheapest, with Ocado nearly always the most expensive. Another nifty feature of this site is that if you've chosen Ocado as your supermarket of choice at the beginning of your shop, and you don't like the end result cost-wise, you can switch over to one of the cheaper trolley options shown at the top of the page, and end up taking your eventual delivery from Tesco, Asda or Sainsburys. Cool eh?

When you've finished chucking things into your virtual trolley, the My Supermarket Trolley Checker system has a good old browse through your choices, and points out the error of your ways! It sounds scary, but it isn't. Basically, it suggests ways in which you could save money, by using cheaper choices or similar products on special offer. For example, on my most recent shop it flagged up that my choice of Bertoli spread would be more of a bargain if I opted for two larger tubs, rather than two medium sized ones. Similarly, I'd ordered three bottles of Sainsburys High Juice squash and Trolley Checker pointed out that Sainsburys were currently offering this product on a buy one get one free, so I'd be better off ordering four bottles instead of three.

Another ingenious feature of the Trolley Checker system is that it will also suggest lower fat or healthier options than those you've already chosen. The site uses the Food Standards Agency's traffic-light system, which lets you see at a glance the difference in calories, fat, sugar and salt in food that you're buying. I must point out that this system is entirely optional - it's not rammed down your throat so to speak. If you want to take a look at cheaper or healthier options it's entirely your choice. If you're happy with your trolley, then so are My Supermarket - they're not going to insist you browse through their alternative choices of healthier or cheaper products. My Bertoli spreads were again flagged up on the Trolley Checker system as Flora was suggested as a lower fat option. As I don't like the taste of Flora, I declined their suggestion and moved on. However, if you do want to take My Supermarket up on some or all of their suggested alternative products, it's a really simple process involving a couple of clicks and you're done.

All in all, the site is incredibly easy to use and extremely user-friendly. It really does do all the hard work for you. Product images load really quickly, and with one simple click and they go into your virtual trolley or basket. If you can't find an item, the search facility is very quick and uncannily accurate. Your spend is easily controlled by watching the cumulative balance along the top of the page. Similarly, your waistline is also helped by the lower fat options the site will display should you so wish!


~~ Checkout and Delivery ~~

Once you're happy with your final trolley choices on My Supermarket's website, you then click on Checkout and your trolley choices will then be passed over to Sainsburys, Tesco or whoever's website. If you haven't already, you then log into the account you have with Sainsburys, Tesco or whoever (don't worry it's entirely secure. They don't store this information on My Supermarket), where you will be able to make your usual payment for your shop. Once you've paid for your trolley items, you'll receive your usual confirmation from your supermarket of choice via email (and you'll also get any Nectar or Clubcard points as per the norm). In addition, you'll also get an email from My Supermarket confirming your final trolley choices (and the number of ipoints you've earned from the transaction if you've signed up via ipoints).

Delivery should occur from your supermarket of choice during the time frame you've booked. I don't know about Tesco, Asda or Ocado, but you get £10 discount off your next shop if Sainsburys fail to deliver during their specified one hour time slot. My last shop was booked for between 2pm and 3pm and because the driver arrived at 3.10pm, we got £10 discount off our next shop. However, this is the first time they've ever been late and they normally always turn up on time. As per usual, the delivery man was extremely polite and helpful, as well as apologetic for being ten minutes late.


~~ The Verdict ~~

In the past I would have logged straight into my Sainsbury's account and commenced my shopping online as I've done in the past. However, since I discovered My Supermarket, I now log into my My Supermarket account and do my usual online shop through them. Not only does it point me in the direction of better deals and healthier alternatives, I'm also earning cashback via my ipoints account, as well as my usual Nectar points.

My Supermarket claim they take the hard work out of your supermarket shop and I totally agree with them. My Supermarket really is a terrific site. It's extremely easy to navigate and use. The site remembers your favourite products, so each subsequent shop gets easier and easier. I also love the way My Supermarket reward their members for shopping through their site in the form of ipoints, all on top of any Clubcard or Nectar rewards you're already earning.

I love the price comparison tool across the top of the page, and even though I'm pretty loyal to Sainsburys, it's nice to see how it fares against the competition. I think the Trolley Checker feature whereby My Supermarket flag up cheaper products or special offers is a fantastic service, especially for shoppers on a strict budget. Similarly, the lower fat or healthier option feature is another godsend. Anyone watching their weight or trying to lower their cholesterol or salt intake would find this feature invaluable.

It's also worth noting that, even if you don't like shopping online, you can still use this site as a price comparison tool. Enter in the items you're planning on buying on your next supermarket trip, and My Supermarket can then tell you which store would be your cheapest option. You can then print out your shopping list through My Supermarket and head off for a more budget conscious supermarket shop.

I highly recommend this site if you do your supermarket shopping online. It can save you pounds if you're on a budget (and pounds if you're on a diet too...), and you're quids in on reward and loyalty front. I'm really going to have to award My Supermarket a full five stars for an absolutely fantastic website. I'm really very hard-pushed to find any drawbacks whatsoever to using this site.

Highly recommended.

~~ Technical Details ~~

My Supermarket Limited
86 Princess Street
Manchester
M1 6NG

Company Number: 5920495

Website: www.mysupermarket.co.uk

Customer Service Telephone No: Freephone: 0800-0517013 between 8am - 8pm Sunday - Friday

Email: support@mysupermarket.co.uk.

If you want to sign up via ipoints, and you're not already a member, their website is at www.ipoints.co.uk

Summary: Online supermarket comparison site that really takes the hard work out of shopping