Jesmond’s branch of Tesco has long been rumoured to be one of the most expensive in the country, but a new price comparison has found it offered the cheapest basket of everyday essentials among five Newcastle supermarkets.

JesmondLocal visited five supermarkets across Jesmond and Newcastle city centre on October 8th to compare the cost of a basket of everyday groceries, with some surprising results.

Tesco Express on Acorn Road came out cheapest at £23.97, compared with £27.02 at Tesco Express on Percy Street – a difference of £3.05 between two branches of the same chain.

The Tesco branch at Grainger Market followed at £27.13, while the basket cost £28.05 at Sainsbury’s in Jesmond.

Little Waitrose on Osborne Road was the most expensive of the five, at £29.65 – £5.68 more than Jesmond Tesco.

The comparison involved choosing the cheapest available version of each item, including own-brand alternatives and Clubcard discounts where applicable. Products were kept as similar as possible, although differences in brands, pack sizes and promotions mean this wasn’t a strictly like-for-like comparison.

One thing that stood out was the choice of cheaper own-brand products. Jesmond Tesco appeared to have more budget alternatives on its shelves than the Percy Street branch, which could help explain the difference in basket prices.

But who are these supermarkets catering for?

Jesmond is home to both students trying to keep their spending down and wealthier, longer-term residents. Its supermarkets are close to one another, but shoppers may use them in very different ways.

Chemistry student Devon Woodward said she visits all three Jesmond supermarkets to get the best value from her weekly shop.

“I actually go to all three supermarkets in Jesmond because some things are cheaper in different places,” she told JesmondLocal. “I just get whatever’s cheapest from each one so my weekly shop works out cheaper overall.”

Staff at the two supermarkets also described different shopping habits. Both wish to remain anonymous; due to not being authorised to speak to the media.

A Sainsbury’s employee said: “We don’t really get many students coming in to do a big weekly shop. Most of the time they’re just popping in for one or two things.”

A Tesco employee described a different picture. “We get students coming in with baskets full of shopping,” they explained. “You see quite a lot of them doing their proper weekly shop here.”

These are individual staff observations rather than customer sales figures, but they suggest students may use the two stores differently.

The idea that Jesmond Tesco is unusually expensive has been around for years.

In 2014, JesmondLocal looked into claims that the Acorn Road branch was Britain’s most expensive Tesco. Its comparison found no price differences between the Tesco Metro branches it checked.

A further JesmondLocal price comparison in 2024 also found that Tesco offered a cheaper basket than Sainsbury’s and Waitrose in Jesmond.

Consumer organisation Which? has found that convenience stores can be more expensive than larger supermarkets. In research published in September 2024, a basket of 42 products cost Clubcard members an average of 11% more at Tesco Express than at larger Tesco supermarkets.

Which? also highlighted how loyalty discounts and the availability of cheaper products can affect the cost of shopping.

Which? and Tesco were contacted for comment on the Jesmond findings, but did not respond at the time of writing.

The latest comparison doesn’t prove that Jesmond Tesco is always cheaper than other branches, or tell us where it ranks nationally.

But it does show that, for this particular basket on October 8th, the Tesco with the expensive reputation offered the cheapest options of the five stores visited.