How a busy mum of two slashed her weekly grocery bill

Karen saved nearly $45 on a weekly shop at PAK’nSAVE Highland Park – and it’s helping her get savey for Christmas.

A busy mum with two kids aged under 10 was surprised to discover she saved nearly $45 on her weekly shop by going to PAK’nSAVE Highland Park.

Karen,
a fulltime parent with children aged 4 and 9, was the mystery shopper for PAK’nSAVE’s latest Shop-Off experience. To undertake a Shop-Off, PAK’nSAVE works with an independent mystery shopper agency. On Friday, September 19, 2025, mystery shopper Karen, did her regular weekly shop at PAK’nSAVE Highland Park, and then popped next door to Woolworths Highland Park and purchased the equivalent items on the same day.

Once Karen’s two shops were completed, they were analysed to ensure equivalent products were purchased. This included consideration of pack sizes, weighted products, brand differences and any out-of-stock items, before the price difference of the two shops could be calculated.

During the shop, Karen bought family staples such as fresh fruit and veg, crackers, bread, spice mixes, spread, snacks, and cleaning products.

Her shop at Woolworths Highland Park cost $347.57, while the equivalent shop at PAK’nSAVE Highland Park cost $303.40 – a saving of $44.17.*

Karen says the difference in price was much greater than she expected, and with Christmas just around the corner, that kind of weekly saving can make a real difference.

“Looking from one supermarket to another, I knew that it was [going to be] cheaper. But seeing exactly how much cheaper was quite eye-opening,” says Karen.

The experience was enough to change her shopping habits. Karen usually does one family shop per week at PAK’nSAVE Highland Park, then pops into the supermarket closest to home to replenish certain items. But after discovering just how much she saved by going to her local PAK’nSAVE, she now makes the extra effort to go there for everything.

“Now that I know how much money I can save by going to PAK’nSAVE Highland Park, I make more of a concerted effort to go there for those little top up shops as well.”

Meal-planning is another way she stretches her food budget. “You know what you’re having every night, so you just buy what you need to make the meals on your meal plan for the week.” It means she almost never buys food that she doesn’t end up using. “If you have roast chicken, you can use it the next night to make pizzas or a chicken pie.”

Wraps are a popular meal in the household and also make the groceries go further. “We eat a lot of wraps,” Karen says. “Whatever you’ve got left over, you can chuck that in a wrap the next night. Like [when we have] nachos, we have nacho wraps the next day.”

In the lead-up to Christmas, Karen is always on the lookout for weekly savings. “We have a joint family Christmas, and we all contribute. I’ll be getting whatever I need to contribute from my local PAK’nSAVE. It’s always nice to save money no matter what time of the year it is, but coming into Christmas, you can use [the money saved] for something that you might not be able to get otherwise.”

Karen’s Shop-Off experience has confirmed that PAK’nSAVE is the right supermarket for her and her family. “It just reaffirms to me that I do need to keep shopping at PAK’nSAVE. I saved $44 and it all adds up. It’s convinced me to make the extra effort to go there for the little top up shops as well.”

She also likes that PAK’nSAVE Highland Park regularly supports the community and is involved in local causes.

“They’re really good at giving back to the community. I like to help out at the school that my daughter goes to and PAK’nSAVE Highland Park supports a number of schools and groups in the local area which is awesome.”

* Groceries were selected by Karen to reflect a typical weekly shop for her household. Equivalent (not identical) shops conducted. Weighted products and pack sizes equalised. Visit paknsave.co.nz/shop-off to see Karen’s shopping list and other benefits received.

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