How to split your grocery shop between supermarkets and save money
Splitting a grocery shop between Pak'nSave and New World can save money, but manually tracking two carts and two checkouts costs time most weeks. Marsonya turns a shopping list into a per-store buy plan, then hands off to each retailer's own checkout — you always pay in their app; Marsonya never holds your card.
Every grocery trip starts with good intentions: buy what’s needed, stay on budget, forget nothing. Halfway down the aisle, memory starts making the decisions instead. Do we still have olive oil? Better grab one just in case. Those small guesses put duplicates in the trolley and dollars on the bill — week after week.
Is it worth splitting your shop between two supermarkets?
Often, yes — within limits. Consumer NZ’s June 2026 basket study found a 16-item basket at Pak’nSave averaged $84.38, about $5 a week cheaper than the loyalty-member average at New World and Woolworths, with fresh meat and produce excluded. Gaps vary item by item and week by week, so the split pays when the stores sit close together and the list is planned — and disappoints when either condition fails.
How do you build a per-store shopping plan manually?
- Fix the list first. Write the full list from a pantry check before any store enters the picture — the plan only works when the list stops changing in the aisle.
- Price the swing items. Compare each chain's advertised price for the ten most expensive items on the list — mailers, store apps and shelf memory cover most of it. Small items rarely justify a second stop.
- Assign stores by the big gaps, capped at two. Send an item to the cheaper store only when the gap is real, and stop at two stores — a three-store route spends the savings on time and petrol.
- Shop the plan, not the aisle. In each store, buy that store's share of the list and nothing extra. The plan's saving survives only if the trolley matches it.
How does Marsonya turn your list into a buy plan?
- ShippedBuy Plan with cheapest split— the list splits across stores by live prices, or prices as one stop — your call
- ShippedPer-store checkout hand-off— each store's share opens in the retailer's own checkout; you always pay there
- ShippedPurchases flow back into the pantry— a completed store visit can add its items to the pantry automatically
- ShippedPrice-drift and substitution warnings
- ShippedNew World account linking— the login happens on your phone and never leaves it
What else do people ask about split shopping?
Does Marsonya place the order for me?
No. A buy plan splits the list and hands each store's share to that retailer's own website or app for checkout. Payment always happens with the retailer — Marsonya never sees, stores or charges a card.
Which stores does Marsonya cover?
Woolworths, Pak'nSave and New World, across roughly 206 stores nationwide. Prices come from each chain's public store listings, refreshed on a nightly schedule.
Is splitting worth it for a small household?
Sometimes not — a small basket means small per-item gaps, and a second trip has a real cost in time and petrol. A one-store plan answers the question honestly: comparing the whole list's total at each store shows whether the split beats the best single store this week.
Can I still shop at just one store?
Yes. One-stop mode prices the whole list at each store and names the cheapest single shop, so the trade-off between one trip and the split is a number, not a guess.