Supermarket surfing - really?

Clearly I think that just visiting one supermarket is hell on earth - so imagine my horror at learning that some crazy people actually go to two or three in the same trip in an effort to save money.

It seems that in a bid to make the most of BOGOFs and three-for-twos there are a growing number of shoppers who spend their Saturday afternoons visiting two or three superstores on the trot.

A poll by research company IGD ShopperVista found that 42% of shoppers surveyed had visited two or more supermarkets during the same shopping trip within the last month  in an effort to keep costs down.

And seven in 10 shoppers said they were prioritising saving money.

Now don’t get me wrong, I love a bargain, but I also can’t imagine anything more soul-destroying than queuing to get into Tesco’s car park, grabbing a trolly, battling many way through the aisles, messing about at the check-out, and then driving away to a different supermarket and going through the whole process again.

My last supermarket experience was five months ago now, but I still clearly remember rising into the shimmering, artificially-lit environment on a conveyor belt not unlike the travelator from 80s TV show Gladiators.

The ocean of brightly-coloured cardboard and plastic packages was broken only by a long shoreline of checkouts, with shelves stacked as high as cliffs and harried-looking shoppers clinging to their trollies like sailors fighting to stay afloat in choppy waters.

The chorus of regular blips from scores of tills mingled with the cries of agitated children, the clashing of metal baskets and occasional tinny announcements of special offers boomed from a faceless, eternally-cheery Big Brother-esque intercom.

It’s just not very nice - and there is another way. Go to your local butcher and greengrocer. Visit a market or farm shop. Look into getting a veg box delivered. You’ll be quids in because shopping local is cheaper than the supermarkets and you’ll be happier too.