Waitrose is famed for its luxury lines, from Heston’s indulgent Christmas panettones to its LoveLife range, but it’s no secret that prices are high.

But according to one insider, there are ways to get your hands on the exclusive ranges and more for a fraction of the listed price.

Speaking to us anonymously, the ex-worker told us exactly how to cut the price of your entire shop at Waitrose in store or online at waitrose.com.

"I know a lot of the benefits you get with working for the company are great – eg the bonus & partner discount," he said.

But there’s some insider knowledge everyone else should be aware of.

"A lot of customers have bought into the essential Waitrose brand since they rolled it out a few years ago now," he explained.

"But there are some ranges that are always on offer – such as cleaning products.

Below, he’s revealed his 7 money-saving Waitrose hacks. For even more, here’s how one dad blagged and entire £47 Waitrose food shop for £4.45 – and even managed to get free cheese thrown in.

1. Use the Essential brand for household items

"Laundry tablets and washing powder tend to be particularly good value for money and these are almost always on promotion, too.

"Most stores will have a specific reductions section at the end of aisles for laundry-related products, and branded and Essential items are normally on it.

"It’s up to the customer to choose the Essential brand even though they see the likes of Persil or Bold on offer as well – but most of the time Essential will be cheapest, especially after the offer is added.

"If you can’t find it reduced, pick up whatever brand is on promotion and check it against the non-branded version in the right aisle – you’ll often find Essential still works out cheapest.

"They tend to do the same on items like tinned beans etc and display it on an end with Heinz items – so always check and compare.

"Many people find there are few noticeable differences between the Waitrose own versions of cleaning products, pastas, soups etc, so I would always say give the cheaper option a try – even just once."

2. Deals change every Wednesday

"Promotional changeover generally happens on the first Wednesday of every month. So if you spot a really good deal, keep an eye on it and make sure you stock up before the end of the month.

"There are some exceptions though. If it’s a Bank Holiday, for example, the offer might expire sooner. The same goes for if the product sells out extremely fast.

"The offers to watch for are your normal BOGOF ones, 2 for £3, buy one get one half price, or, even better, the 25% to 33% off certain items."

3. Free leftover stock

"In some cases, just before closing, some stores will give out leftover items – such as flowers – as goodwill gestures to the customers to avoid throwing them out.

"This means it won’t go in the bin, but unfortunately fresh items that fail to sell will be chucked out.

"I know some stores have an agreement with local charities and food banks so they will take the dry food.

"Also, I know a couple of stores with pig farms nearby will give the bad/not so good looking fruit and vegetables to them once a week."

4. "It’s on us"

"Staff have these stickers that they carry around with them that say ‘it’s on us’ so basically if they get into a conversation with a customer about a product they were after and it wasn’t in stock, they could give them a sticker to pick up the next best alternative ‘on them’.

"This is a really good idea. But, be aware it can only be used if the customer wants the alternative or if there is an alternative at all.

"Say, for instance, if it’s for a certain recipe."

5. Staff discounts CAN’T be shared

"Staff are strictly not allowed to share their 25% discount.

"When you get your discount card when you first join the company, you can choose to have an additional card holder (such as to your partner or a family member) which means they’ll get a 25% discount at Waitrose and 15% off Waitrose electricals, too.

"Apart from that you’re not allowed to share in store."

6. Best time to shop

"The best day to shop for stock availability is on Thursdays as that’s when the depot sends out the biggest deliveries to stores ahead of the weekend hit.

"The majority of branches will get this stock out straight away – so you’ll generally see the shelves more full up on a Thursday than any other time of the week.

"If you want peace and quiet and to be able to find all the items you want, the best day would be a Tuesday.

"Most stores find that their sales drop on a Tuesday – which means it’s a lot quieter.

"The other best day to shop would be on a promotional changeover day (first Wednesday of the month) as that’s when all the new offers will be in place and stock will be full for fresh offers."

7. The best times to find yellow sticker items

"After the lunchtime rush, workers will go around reducing any items that are set to expire that day.

"This means everything during the busy spell still sells for the retail price, but if you can opt for a later lunch, you might save a few pounds.

"The first reduction is usually between 2pm and 3pm – and is often 20-30p off. These are labelled with a yellow sticker.

"Generally that would work and you’d see a fair few things sold. We’d then do a second and final reduction which would be about two hours before the shop closes. This depends on your local branch’s opening hours.

"At this point we’d knock everything off by around 50% to get it sold and avoid waste."

8. 20% off fish

 

"It’s always worth signing up for a free myWaitrose card.

"Register online and you’ll get benefits such as discounts at certain stores and restaurants every day.

"One of the long-standing ones is the newspaper offer. Basically, if you spend £10 or more it’ll take the cost off your shop. You can also get a free monthly Waitrose & Partners food magazine, 20% off all fish from the fish counter on Fridays and a free tea of coffee when you buy any item in store (only if you bring in a reusable cup though)."

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