Credit-Crunch Shopping... (Home Bargains)

Member Name: richa10a

Product:	Home Bargains
Date:	04/11/09 (58 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good variety, reasonable prices.

Disadvantages: Can look a bit like a car boot sale at times!

Although we live quite close to 3 or 4 branches of Home Bargains, it's not a store we visit very often. If the missus does ever drag me in there, it's not that we're shopping for anything specific, but simply that we're having 'a browse'. We nearly always end up leaving with a bag full of impulse purchases though!

Home Bargains is of the same ilk as Wilkinsons, but not quite as organised looking. They sell a bit of everything, but mainly toiletries, cleaning products & food items. Also thrown in are household tat (sorry, merchandise....), a bit of stationary, a few toys (that probably won't last very long), & seasonal items such as Halloween at the moment, soon to be followed by Christmas.

We usually end up buying a few food items. Generally unhealthy items such as chocolate & crisps. Prices are very good compared to the main supermarkets. Toiletries & cleaning products are usually worth a look too - we often buy air freshener refills etc from here as they are much cheaper (often even cheaper than Wilko's). However, don't assume that just because you bought something once, at a reasonable price, that it will be there the next time - Home Bargains is one of those stores that frequently changes stock/prices... (which I suppose is perhaps part of the appeal of popping in - you don't know what you might find!).

Check-out isn't usually too bad. The queues never seem to be more than 3 or customers long, but the check-out staff aren't always the most competent (probably one of those retailers that has a high staff turnaround), especially when paying by such tricky methods as credit cards..

Worth a browse, but don't necessarily expect to find what you're looking for...

Summary: See review.