Planning to shop at supermarkets in New Zealand while you’re here? Perfect, you’re in the right place.

After reading this post you’ll know about:

• the main New Zealand supermarkets (and a few others)
• the cheapest supermarket chain in New Zealand (with an actual price comparison)
• tips and tricks for food shopping in New Zealand stores

Personally I find myself visiting supermarkets most days on the road. Knowing a little bit about supermarkets in advance is handy. I’ll never forget being floored at the exorbitant prices when I walked into a first Whole Foods. Alternatively, I remember the joy of discovering Trader Joe’s.

I hope this post helps you with your trip to NZ!

There are three main supermarket chains you’ll find throughout the country:

• New World
• Countdown
• Pak’nSave

TL;DR: The cheapest supermarket in New Zealand is Pak’nSave.

Pretty much every kiwi will give agree with this as they have the best prices across the board, with their advertising tagline ‘NZ’s lowest food prices’ engrained in every kiwi’s mind.

That being said, there’s only 57 Pak n Save locations compared to 180 Countdown’s and 138 New World’s (as of June 2019).

Therefore you might find yourself in a place where New World and Countdown are the only options. At worst, you might need to shop at one of the 245 Four Square supermarkets (a.k.a. convenicnce stores and/or dairy) which are usually found in smaller towns but are known to be more expensive. In some regions, you might need to go to a Fresh Choice (31 stores) or Super Value (39 stores).

Let’s scrap the theory and get onto real-world prices between the big three New Zealand supermarkets.

How did I put together this list?

As I’m not in New Zealand at the time of writing (and don’t want to hassle friends) I’ve looked up the price on the exact same item on each of the respective online ordering websites. In order to get the most accurate prices I’ve:

• Chose 13 items identical items.
• Listed the full retail price.
• Compared prices at three stores in close proximity. Specifically Pak’nSave Kilbirne, Countdown Kilbirnie, and New World Newtown.

Here are the most recent results.

Note: I first conducted this in June 2019 and you can see the individual prices here. I’ve updated this in March 2020 and the result was still the same, Pak’nSave wins. But interestingly, all three are cheaper. That’s because these prices reflect the summer produce being more affordable. I think…

* these products weren’t in stock on the second edition, so I’ve left the price unchanged from last June.

So as you can see, Pak’nSave is clearly the cheapest across the board, nearly 10% cheaper than New World who were marginally ahead of Countdown.

RELATED READ: 10 NEW ZEALAND DRINKS TO TRY

In Countdown supermarkets they offer fruit for kids for free. Great initiative.

• If you see people walking in bare feet, don’t be surprised.
• Check your receipts, you’ll often get fuel discount vouchers which can be great.
• For the most part, they’re open seven days a week…unlike some (I’m looking at you Germany).
• You can sign up for rewards programs at Countdown and New World which give you discounts. It’s free to sign up.
• You can buy beer and wine in supermarkets (bring your ID into the store – even if you aren’t the one making the purchase). Want spirits? You’ll need to go to a liquor shop.
• Farmer markets are a good spot to get cheap fruit and veggies while cutting out the middle man.

• You can get phone credit at supermarket checkouts (we talk sim cards for visitors here).
• New World Metro stores have higher prices than a regular New World store (avoid these in Auckland and Wellington).
• Single-use plastic bags are banned from supermarkets so bring your reusable bags (or buy one in-store). Pakn’Save stores usually have boxes you can use to pack things in.
• Hunt the specials. If there are several brands providing a near-identical product, there’s a good chance one of the brands will be on special each week.
• If you’re planning to buy things from the bakery, you’ll often find the products at a discount after 6 pm.

MORE ON CHUR NEW ZEALAND: GET STARTED WITH THIS NZ TRAVEL GUIDE

Enjoy wandering (whether that’s purposefully or aimfully) in the food store of your choice!

If you’ve got any questions about this, drop a comment below or email jub@churnewzealand.com

It’s always a blast walking around supermarkets in a new country! I’m writing this in San Ignacio, Belize, and the supermarkets here are small independently owned spots. The names of the two I went to today were ABC Supermarket and David’s Store. Annoyingly, not everything is marked with a price (everything is in NZ).

RELATED READ: 22 OF THE BEST HIKING SNACKS

Jub

Hey, it’s Jub here. I’m the guy behind Chur New Zealand, helping you have the best time hiking, trekking, walking…whatever you want to call it…in NZ. I’m based in Queenstown and am always out and about exploring trails, old & new. If you have any questions, reach out.