Brits spent almost £5bn in bargain stores last year

Poundland, Home Bargains, Poundword, Poundstretcher, B&M and the 99p Store seem to be winning in the retail stakes, with four in five shoppers now visiting bargain stores and buying an ever-wider array of goods including fresh fruit and veg.

Data from market researchers Nielsen showed that spending at bargain stores totalled £4.9bn in the year to July, up 17% from the previous year.

Nearly four-fifths of households in Britain (78%) now buy from them, with more than half shopping at Poundland alone. Combined Bargain stores are more popular than the German discount supermarket chains Aldi and Lidl, which are visited by three-quarters of households. I guess that’s because there are fewer Aldis and Lidls in town centres.

Almost a third of the increased annual amount spent at bargain stores resulted from shoppers switching from mainstream …