New Research Shows That Almost All Supermarket Special Offers Are for Junk Food

We all know that supermarkets are basically huge, Michael Bublé-soundtracked vortexes designed to suck money out of us. All those special offers and multipack discounts and displays of luxury cat litter you didn't even know you wanted. Just popping in for a pint of milk is likely to leave you five quid poorer and with more cut-price tzatziki than you know what to do with.

But the promotional tricks of your local Tesco could be harming more than just your bank balance. According to new research from consumer group Which?, more than half of the recent promotions in British supermarkets were for junk food.

Analysing data from price comparison website mySupermarket on the 77,165 special offers hawked by Morrisons, ASDA, Ocado, Sainsbury's, Waitrose, and Tesco between April and June this year, Which? found that 53 percent were for foods high in salt, sugar, and fat.

The most promoted of these unhealthy products were frozen chips and potatoes, followed by pizzas and soft drinks—69 percent of which had a sugar content high enough to be taxed under the government's proposed levy on sugary drinks. In comparison, only about a third of fresh fruit and vegetables were being sold on special offer.

It's not the first time Which? has called out the promotional schemes of national retailers. In a study of supermarkets, clothes shops, chemists, and other high street stores earlier this year, the group found that sweets and fizzy drinks were still being displayed at checkouts, despite many shops pledging to remove them.

Previous studies have exposed the scammier side of supermarket "Mega Deals!" and buy-one-get-one-free offers, too. Last year, an investigation by a consumer regulator group accused British supermarkets of duping customers with "misleading" special offers and any BOGOF meat product probably isn't as much of a bargain as those shiny stickers make it look.

Which? is now calling for supermarkets to include more fruit and vegetables in their promotional offers and remove unhealthy snacks from checkouts. Director of campaigns and policy Alex Neill said: "It is time for supermarkets to shift the balance of products they include in price promotions and for all retailers to get rid of temptation at the till by taking sweets off the checkout."

The group is also urging the Government to release its childhood obesity strategy, which has now been scheduled for publication in the autumn after repeated delays.

Those in the food retail industry, on the other hand, have responded to the Which? Study by highlighting the improvements many supermarkets have made in encouraging consumers to choose healthy products. Paul Mills-Hicks, the food commercial director of Sainsbury's, said: "Since 2014, we've been working hard to remove promotions and invest money in regular lower prices. In doing so, we have made hundreds of fresh and healthy products affordable all of the time and our fresh produce sales are growing as a result."

Might be best to put those two-for-the-price-of-one of kettle chips back, though—for the sake of your wallet and your waistline.