Shopping online and locking down long-term low prices are two highly underused ways Kiwis can save more at the supermarket.
Food savings have come under the spotlight with the launch of the new loyalty card which offers a total of about $80 million a year in savings to people who use it at Countdown and AA Smartfuel partner service stations, BP and Caltex.
The new Onecard gives customers three ways to save: First, Onecard club prices when swiping the card at Countdown. They can also swipe at any AA Smartfuel participating service station and automatically reduce their fuel bill by 6c a litre (up to 50 litres) with a minimum $40 spend on fuel, without having to spend anything at the supermarket.
The third way allows cardholders a choice between accumulating Onecard points at Countdown to earn reward vouchers to be spent in-store or to accumulate additional AA Smartfuel discounts on fuel.
Savings can be supercharged by combining all Onecards in a household to accumulate Onecard points or fuel savings faster.
But what are the secrets of the supermarket - ways to save more than most shoppers realise?
More than 80,000 New Zealanders are active users of Countdown's online shopping platform which Susan D'lima, Countdown's head of loyalty, says is a good way to save and be budget-conscious.
"The big factor in shopping online is you can monitor your trolley tally. You can set a budget and maybe decide to leave some things behind. That is an important factor for many people, particularly as you can see what the price is any time - good for planning ahead.
"The online shopping function is linked to your Onecard and the system remembers what you have ordered in the past; it prompts you if you forget things you would normally buy, like nappies for a new mum."
"You can also build your list over the week - the average online shop with us takes about eight minutes now. Prices are exactly the same - same specials, Onecard club prices and you still earn Onecard points," she says.
The other big way to save at the supermarket is by taking advantage of Countdown's 'Lockdown' prices - where about 3000 products have dropped in price and are maintained at that level.
"One example is our Homebrand white and wholemeal bread," says D'lima. "We dropped the price to $1 more than two years ago and families still know this is the price every time they go shopping."
It pays to keep an eye on week to week Onecard club prices, specials and stock up on multi-buy products, D'lima says, as long as people use the products bought in larger quantities.
"It's worth being flexible when it comes to brands too. Swap branded products out for supermarket own brands or buy the brands on special. It seems simple but it's easy to keep buying the same brand just out of habit, when you could be saving quite a bit."
The secrets of the supermarket are also matched by 'pearls' at the pump.
AA Smartfuel director Ian Sutcliffe says a family of two adults and two teenagers, for example, can now get their existing AA Smartfuel discount of 6c per litre at BP or Caltex when they spend $40 or more on fuel - but also accumulate an extra 6c per litre each week for spending $200 in a week at Countdown on groceries.
But there is another way to grow those fuel savings faster. Anyone who chooses to buy their fuel in $40 blocks and accumulate their AA Smartfuel discounts will see their savings grow even faster.
"If you sign up, you also get sent an email telling you when there are 10c a litre off at BP and Caltex stations - so you can get access to further savings that way," he says.
Countdown has issued $238m in Onecard reward vouchers over the last 10 years; D'lima says "many millions" more have been saved through club prices at the checkout - and will be even more sought with the new card. Sutcliffe says his customers are earning about $60m in fuel discounts a year, many saving hundreds of dollars individually, at BP and Caltex stations.
That means holders of the new Onecard should benefit by a total of over $80m a year in savings at the pump and the popular supermarket.
The 1.8m Onecard users will join AA Smartfuel's 2.2m cardholders and D'lima says: "We estimate about 500,000 people already have both cards - meaning a total of about 3.5m cardholders, easily the biggest in the country."