Tesco shoppers may find they cannot always buy as much as they want because of a little-known policy that limits the number of identical items they can purchase in a single visit.
As Britain's largest supermarket chain, Tesco operates more than 3,000 outlets nationwide. Millions of households rely on the retailer for regular grocery shopping, with approximately 20 million households holding a Tesco Clubcard. Yet many may be unaware of the "maximum purchase quantity" restriction that applies to a wide range of products.
How the purchase limit works
The policy prevents customers from exceeding a set limit for each product during one transaction. While the maximum quantity varies between products, numerous items currently have a cap of 16 per transaction, according to Tesco's website.
Products subject to the limit include Tesco Medium Sliced White Bread 800g, Tesco Medium Free Range Eggs 12 Pack, Tesco British Semi Skimmed Milk 2.272L (4 pints), Tesco Small Bananas 6 Pack, Tesco Ripe & Ready Avocado, Creamfields Mature White Cheddar 400g, Eastmans Wafer Thin Cooked Ham Slices 400g and Hearty Food Co. Penne Pasta 500g.
Tesco's explanation and app advice
Tesco states on its website: "To ensure availability of all our products customers may be limited to a maximum number of items."
The supermarket also advises customers that they can check stock levels at their nearest branch before travelling, which can be done through the Tesco Grocery & Clubcard app.
App update and meal planner
Earlier this year, Tesco introduced a significant update to its app, launching a new AI-driven Meal Planner available exclusively to selected customers. The tool offers meal and recipe suggestions, creates meal plans, identifies required ingredients and allows users to add items directly to their online basket or shopping list.
When it launched in August, Tesco explained: "It's currently being launched as a beta, which means we're making it available to selected customers first so we can learn, improve and make sure the experience is working well before making it available more widely." Those selected for the beta trial can access the Meal Planner via the Tesco app.
