Christmas is an expensive time of year, regardless of what is happening at the petrol pumps. The average British family will spend £821.25 on festive items such as gifts, food, drink and decorations this year. With additional expenses looming, it’s always appreciated when companies do something to make the festive period a little more manageable financially. With the supermarkets offering generous discounts on fuel over the Black Friday weekend, could we be in store for more bargain prices at the pumps this Christmas?
Black Friday fuel price wars
Over the Black Friday weekend, both Morrisons and Asda used fuel offers to win trade from those looking to save at the pumps. Morrisons launched a Black Friday offer giving customers 10p off each litre of fuel if they spent £50 or more on groceries in its stores. Meanwhile, Asda knocked 2p off each litre of fuel for all customers in its petrol stations up and down the UK.
Could this be a sign that supermarkets may be willing to cut prices at the pumps to help their customers save money when making journeys over Christmas?
Pleased to hear the news that fuel duty would be frozen in the latest Budget, Asda’s chief executive Sean Clarke said that his company wanted to do even more to help its customers save money in the lead up to Christmas. By reducing the price of a litre of both petrol and diesel by 2p, he hoped that would go some way towards alleviating the financial squeeze that many families are feeling at present.
Highest fuel prices for three years
An AA spokesperson has confirmed that consumers are currently paying the highest prices for fuel in three years. In addition, there are predictions that these could rise by a further 7p or 8p per litre in the near future. This leaves motorists facing even higher costs at a time of the year when weather conditions mean that cars use more fuel to run.
This may be an even bigger shock to diesel drivers, who have recently been told that they may need to pay more road tax if their cars don’t meet certain standards. The additional taxation will contribute to a ‘clean air fund.’ This is yet another cost to add to the ever growing list of expenses for those who own older diesel vehicles.
Supermarket competition
We know that supermarkets like to be competitive when it comes to offering their customers the best deals. They will always try to encourage new customers to use their stores, so lowering fuel prices or offering fuel-based incentives could be a great way to get people to choose their shop when they buy their Christmas groceries.
If families have the option of a few local supermarkets to choose from, there’s plenty of scope for them to be swayed to spend money elsewhere. Saving money on the fuel they need for their Christmas journeys might just be the winning factor, so we could see companies battling over fuel prices for the festive season. This would be excellent news for consumers looking for ways to save money wherever possible.
Nor is it all about attracting new customers. Supermarket owners understand the value of loyal customers and know that many of their regular shoppers are feeling a financially uncertain at the moment. Reducing fuel prices rewards those regular customers just as it aims to attract new ones.
Despite offers like Morrisons’ 10p off a litre when you spend £50 in-store sounding like a great deal, it’s always worth shopping around before you commit by using the PetrolPrices app. This is especially true if you don’t normally do your food shopping in Morrisons and need to travel further than your usual supermarket to get there. Bear in mind, too, that you may end up buying more expensive products than you normally would, in order to be eligible for the deal.
The price that you pay for fuel is affected by where you live and which petrol station you choose to use, so be sure that you do your research to guarantee that you’re getting the most reasonable price in a location convenient for you. It could be that you could save a few pence per litre by simply driving along to the next petrol station, so it’s always worth checking with PetrolPrices before you fill up.
Would you be tempted to change the supermarket you use in order to save money on fuel? How else will you be keeping your fuel costs down over the festive season? Leave a comment below to share your plans.
I have both add a & Morrison’s filling stations within 2 minutes drive from my house, but never spend great amounts of money in one go at any supermarkets for that matter. Maybe if Morrisons dropped their £50 offer to £25, since that is closer 2 what I and my wife spend in any supermarkets at any one time , then they would be more attractive to spend our time & money it for bulky shopping needs. We buy meet and vegetables in bulk to last for 4 to 5 weeks at a time. This works out making our food shopping much cheaper than the any of the local supermarkets. This just leaves household goods like cleaning items and sundries below the average of £25 per month even in Morrison’s.
I have seen no reduction in york the prices continue to rise there was no sign of the morrisons price reduction I have 5 supermarkets to choose from tesco have been the slowest to increase there prices so I shop there & fill up because the difference used to be between 2 -3p a litre now it’s only 0.02p between them & Asda. I would love to see a price war but I don’t think it will happen garages are to quick to increase the nowhere days lower prices are very slow to come through .
As a pensioner living by myself I consider it a very unfair practice as cannot afford these large grocery bills to make these offers worth while, but still need petrol for 6/7000 miles per year
Completely agree Colin. It’s not OK to be ageist, sexist, racialist, but it IS OK it seems to be singleist. I think few people shopping for 1 would spend £50 or more on a weekly shop.
I agree the 10p at Morrisons is of no benefit if you dont spend that much, they also send me extra points but again the amount you need to spend for a couple on pension is of no value to us. I use PetrolPrices instead.
Though quite often when you get to the station they have put it up by 1p.
Sent my wife in to do the shop at Morrisons whilst I filled up with 45l of petrol (no queue) before joining her. At the cash out the assistant offered vouchers for 10p per litre on fuel after a spend of £80+. Moral….shop first and fuel up later!
Hi , could some one tell me is supermarket petrol thin down. I told was by friend but I didn’t believe it.
I was informed, when my EGR valve needed replacing that supermarkets add certain things to their fuels which can block the EGR valve up. I got it back EVENTUALLY but had to fork out in the higher region of three figures to get my car repaired. I tried to haggle with the guy who fixed my car but that WAS mates rates. I would rather spend that little bit more at the pump each time fill up than go through that again.
Clean EGR out yourself it’s easy, do a search for cleaning EGR for your vehicle, don’t pay these greedy garage prices, or buy a cheap second hand one off ebay and clean it at your leasure and swap them over every couple of years, then clean the one you have taken off.
Supermarkets DO NOT put anything in the fuel to cause that, HOWEVER branded fuel companies DO add further additives which may help to prevent it and similar problems. Every 4th tank fill up with the premium fuel.
Tesco hindley Wigan seem to be higher prices £1.17′ Sainsbury’s 1.14′ so where is the competition, I’m shopper else where
£ 1.22.9 in Gainsborough at Morrison’s and Tesco’s for diesel.
morrisons did 10p per litre off if you spent over fifty pound on shopping over the black Friday period
Tesco Dumfries diesel £1.229 and Morrisons £1.239. That’s the cheapest we can get. No other major supermarkets here. Independents and chains are dearer.
I would certainly change the supermarket in order to save money on fuel if the next one is just few minutes drive.
Chan sha
As a pensioner on my own I can never get the petrol discount on petrol when I have to spend so much on food first. We need discounts just as much if not more than families.
Definitely.,,,!!!
I have both add a & Morrison’s filling stations within 2 minutes drive from my house, but never spend great amounts of money in one go at any supermarkets for that matter. Maybe if Morrisons dropped their £50 offer to £25, since that is closer 2 what I and my wife spend in any supermarkets at any one time , then they would be more attractive to spend our time & money it for bulky shopping needs. We buy meet and vegetables in bulk to last for 4 to 5 weeks at a time. This works out making our food shopping much cheaper than the any of the local supermarkets. This just leaves household goods like cleaning items and sundries below the average of £25 per month even in Morrison’s.
I have seen no reduction in york the prices continue to rise there was no sign of the morrisons price reduction I have 5 supermarkets to choose from tesco have been the slowest to increase there prices so I shop there & fill up because the difference used to be between 2 -3p a litre now it’s only 0.02p between them & Asda. I would love to see a price war but I don’t think it will happen garages are to quick to increase the nowhere days lower prices are very slow to come through .
As a pensioner living by myself I consider it a very unfair practice as cannot afford these large grocery bills to make these offers worth while, but still need petrol for 6/7000 miles per year
Completely agree Colin. It’s not OK to be ageist, sexist, racialist, but it IS OK it seems to be singleist. I think few people shopping for 1 would spend £50 or more on a weekly shop.
I agree the 10p at Morrisons is of no benefit if you dont spend that much, they also send me extra points but again the amount you need to spend for a couple on pension is of no value to us. I use PetrolPrices instead.
Though quite often when you get to the station they have put it up by 1p.
Sent my wife in to do the shop at Morrisons whilst I filled up with 45l of petrol (no queue) before joining her. At the cash out the assistant offered vouchers for 10p per litre on fuel after a spend of £80+. Moral….shop first and fuel up later!
Hi , could some one tell me is supermarket petrol thin down. I told was by friend but I didn’t believe it.
I was informed, when my EGR valve needed replacing that supermarkets add certain things to their fuels which can block the EGR valve up. I got it back EVENTUALLY but had to fork out in the higher region of three figures to get my car repaired. I tried to haggle with the guy who fixed my car but that WAS mates rates. I would rather spend that little bit more at the pump each time fill up than go through that again.
Clean EGR out yourself it’s easy, do a search for cleaning EGR for your vehicle, don’t pay these greedy garage prices, or buy a cheap second hand one off ebay and clean it at your leasure and swap them over every couple of years, then clean the one you have taken off.
Supermarkets DO NOT put anything in the fuel to cause that, HOWEVER branded fuel companies DO add further additives which may help to prevent it and similar problems. Every 4th tank fill up with the premium fuel.
Tesco hindley Wigan seem to be higher prices £1.17′ Sainsbury’s 1.14′ so where is the competition, I’m shopper else where
£ 1.22.9 in Gainsborough at Morrison’s and Tesco’s for diesel.
morrisons did 10p per litre off if you spent over fifty pound on shopping over the black Friday period
Tesco Dumfries diesel £1.229 and Morrisons £1.239. That’s the cheapest we can get. No other major supermarkets here. Independents and chains are dearer.
I would certainly change the supermarket in order to save money on fuel if the next one is just few minutes drive.
Chan sha
As a pensioner on my own I can never get the petrol discount on petrol when I have to spend so much on food first. We need discounts just as much if not more than families.
Definitely.,,,!!!