16 August 2023 , 23:01
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Sainsbury's is the cheapest large retailer for parents looking to save money when buying school uniforms.
A new report by Which? analysed the prices of a selection of nine-year-old sized school uniform items at eight popular supermarkets and high street clothes shops. Coming to £47 for two of the following items: sweatshirts, polo shirts, pinafore dresses, skirts, boy's trousers and girl's trousers, Sainsbury's Tu range was the best value for money.
Sainsbury’s had the cheapest products available in four of the uniform categories, including polo shirts for £4 - joint with Asda, sweatshirts for £3, boys’ trousers for £8 and girls’ trousers costing £9. Morrisons was just £1.95 more expensive, costing £48.95 in total. Its polo shirts come in bigger packs of three, so shoppers do get more for their money, but when Which? adjusted the price to two-thirds of the pack, Morrisons still finished second in the table overall.
Similarly, Tesco sells three polo shirts in a pack costing £7.50, but its place in the table was not changed when Which? factored in a price for two equivalent items. The most expensive place to buy the uniform selection was Next, where the items cost more than double the price of Sainsbury’s, totalling £102.
However, some of the items are sold individually rather than in multipacks, so the consumer watchdog doubled the price of a single item for the purposes of the basket comparison. Budget supermarkets Aldi and Lidl also sell cheap uniforms including a £5 bundle deal.
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However, these are "special buys" often found in the middle aisles which sell out quickly and are often not restocked, so they were not included in the research. Figures from consumer insights company Vypr also found just 5% of parents buy uniform at Aldi and 3% at Lidl mainly due to the way it is sold.
Ele Clark, Which? retail editor, said: “School uniforms don’t come cheap – especially if you have to buy them for more than one child. Household budgets have been battered by an unrelenting cost of living crisis, but our latest research shows some retailers will help your money go further than others.
“Parents and guardians can also save money by buying second-hand, opting for multipacks, choosing longer-lasting options such as trousers with a hem that can be let down, and of course keeping an eye out for special offers.”
New figures compiled exclusively for The Mirror by Vypr found 64% of parents and guardians don't think retailers are doing enough to make school uniform affordable despite annual price wars between leading stores. The majority of parents are buying uniforms from supermarkets, with 41% saying they do this due to price - an 11% increase on last year's figure of 30%
Asda was found to be the most popular shop, with 41% of parents shopping for uniform there, followed by Tesco at 24% and Sainsbury's 20%.
Ben Davies, Vypr founder, said: "Retailers need to offer great deals and bundle offers to capture these shoppers’ attention, especially those with more than one child are actively looking for these discounts and multi-buys."
The rising costs of school uniform have become a major issue for cash-strapped parents, with a recent study by the Children's Society saying they spend an average of £422 a year on secondary school uniforms and £287 for primary school clothing. This is a hike of 129% and 141% respectively on 2018 prices.
More parents are turning to second-hand as a result, with charity Scope saying 36% of parents would now consider buying school uniform from charity shops, up 7% from 2021.
Earlier in the week, The Mirror spoke to Dawn Coleman who runs a Salvation Army school uniform bank in Shipley, West Yorkshire.
She said: “We’ve had a really big increase in people coming in, especially since the schools went back in September 2021. This correlates with the costs of everything going up."
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Rising costs are partly due to schools requiring parents to buy expensive branded items. Last year, guidance was brought in to ensure schools didn't ask for unnecessary logos on uniform. However, this did not force schools to completely ban such items.
A Department for Education spokesperson said: "We will continue to work with responsible bodies and schools to ensure the guidance is followed and uniform policies are reasonable.”
School uniform prices ranked
- Sainsbury's Tu Clothing - £47
- Morrisons Nutmeg range - £48.95
- Asda George - £53
- Tesco F&F Clothing - £64.50
- Matalan - £69
- M&S - £73
- John Lewis ANYDAY range - £85
- Next - £102