BRITS are already clued in that the B&M shelves boast a bargain or two but here are seven handy 'hacks' to help you save on your next haul.
Amid the rising cost of living and food prices, many shoppers will be looking for creative ways to curb their spending.
Whether it's using the B&M app or what time you should hit the store, this ultimate guide could make your money go that bit further.
These seven tips were uncovered by the co-founder of the shopping community website LatestDeals.co.uk, Tom Church.
Sharing the hacks, Tom commented: “B&M is a great shop for bargains if you know how to look.
"Shop on a Wednesday morning, use the B&M app, and wait for full-priced items to reduce.
"Those are the three key ways to save. I’ve saved hundreds of pounds using these.”
How to save on your next B&M shop
Wait for New Snacks to Drop
Tom Church has let shoppers in on a 'secret' about not buying new snacks in B&M right away.
At the time of writing, Tom identified some of those new tasty treats on B&M shelves: “Right now B&M has the new Cadbury Dairy Milk Breakaway Mint; Limited Edition Walkers crisps in Monster Munch, Wotsits and Doritos flavours; Cadbury Dream Raspberry Bites; Fish ‘n Chips Pickled Onion snacks; Cadbury Caramilk Marvellous Creations; and Lotus Biscoff White Chocolate bars."
But he added: “However, the secret is not to buy them as soon as they come out.
"This is because they are very expensive at the beginning. Prices can often get reduced after the initial hype has passed.
"Plus, most of these snacks are limited edition or for festive periods, and so stock gets reduced to clear with time.
"So I keep a list of the new snacks I want to try by saving them on Instagram, along with the launch price. When I spot the price has dropped or it goes on special, I’ll buy it then.”
“Over the years I’ve saved hundreds of pounds at B&M by saving items to my list and waiting for the prices to drop.”
10p bargains on the B&M app
Tom also recommends downloading the B&M app to find 10p bargains.
Once you've got it downloaded, simply scan the barcodes of items in-store.
The savvy shopping expert continued: "Often, B&M updates prices in their system but not on the shop floor.
"This means that items can be cheaper than their list price. If you scan the barcode of an item in the app, you’ll be shown the correct price. I often go round the shop and scan as many items as I can, hoping for a bargain!"
If you're wondering how you would know which items are reduced, you can join the online shopping community at LatestDeals.co.uk.
B&M shoppers share reduced items they’ve found with the app on the platform so you know which products to look out for and scan in your shop.
Tom went on to say:" You’ll really hit the jackpot if you scan an item and get an error message.
"This usually means the item has been reduced to clear and could end up costing as little as 10p! You can take the item to the till and they’ll let you know the exact price”.
Save 40 per cent With Yellow Stickers
Discounted items in B&M will be marked with a yellow sticker, according to Tom Church.
The deals expert also shared an experience of when he found a Rimini Chiminea reduced from £50 to £30.
Tom added: "It’s also worth keeping an eye out for special buys. These are also items that have been reduced in store with red stickers.
"Sometimes they’ll be in a dedicated ‘sale’ section, or they may be found throughout the store. As an example, I found this pink velvet cushion reduced to £7 in the sale section”.
The best time to shop at B&M, store manager reveals
Tom also spoke to a B&M store manager to ascertain when is the best time for customers to do their shopping.
He commented: "A B&M store manager told me that they tend to do price drops between Monday and Thursday.
"The main one though, is on Wednesday, and these often include their 10p bargains.
"Apparently, they get the list of items to reduce on a Tuesday night, everything’s authorised on Wednesday, and new prices are ready to go by around 10am.
For this reason, the best time to shop at B&M would be just after 10am on a Wednesday morning since you’ve got the best chance of getting those famous 10p bargains.
However, Tom added: "If you can’t get there on a Wednesday, it’s always best going in the morning on any day of the week. That way you can get in early and bag bargains before the shop has had a lot of traffic”.
Check Bar Codes
The Latest Deals.co.uk co-founder also suggested checking the barcodes on the products you want to buy to make sure that they are all the same.
He commented: “At B&M, the exact same items could be priced differently. This is because they may have slightly different bar codes.
"If they’re not, check the prices by scanning your app. You may find that just by picking up a different one (of the same product), you can get it at a cheaper price”.
Join Secret Facebook Groups
“If you’re not in one already, join a Facebook group. I recommend the Latest Deals, Extreme Couponing & Bargains Group which has 250,000 members," Tom Church recommends.
He added: "Other members post photos of bargains they’ve found at shops, including B&M, so you can try your local store and hopefully find it for the same price.
"It’s the best way of knowing about potential 10p steals and reduced to clear items. But a warning, it becomes quite competitive!
Tom also suggested following B&M on all their social media platforms including its TikTok, Twitter and Instagram so that you can be the first to know about new promotions or releases.
Avoid These To Save Money
Tom Church has also shared the 'no no's for shopping at B&M.
He urged: “The big B&M no no is shopping their seasonal items as soon as they land in store. All you have to do is wait a month or so, and the products will likely be reduced.
"Right now, that means you should avoid their summer range, unless items are already discounted.
"If you go into the store at the moment, there’s lots of summer living products available, including outdoor accessories, garden decorations, fire pits, egg chairs and more.
"B&M has had these summer items in for over a month now, and already prices are starting to drop.
Tom also shared that a few weeks ago he went on the hunt for a fire pit and found one for £100.
He left it at the time and it’s now been reduced to £70, so that's a saving of £30.
B&M branches in Gwent:
- Abergavenny: High Street
- Blackwood: Cliff Road, Blackwood Retail Park, High Street
- Caerphilly: Bedwas Road
- Chepstow: Beaufort Park, Thornwell
- Cwmbran: Tudor Road
- Ebbw Vale: Brunswick Construction Site, Rhyd-y-Blew
- Newport: East Retail Park
- Newport: Maesglas Retail Park, Docks Way
Your Money Matters
Your Money Matters is a campaign launched by us and our sister titles across Newsquest to help you overcome the surge in the cost of living.
This year has seen a whole host of household price increases — from the energy price cap rise to surging inflation and food prices — costing your family hundreds or even thousands of pounds extra per year.
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The worldwide energy crisis exacerbated by the Ukraine invasion, the financial impact of the Covid pandemic, record inflation figures and a surge in the cost of goods, fuel and travel means we will all feel the pinch.
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