Price wars: Supermarket versus local market

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I'm often told that it's cheaper to ditch the major supermarkets and shop at local markets, retailers and butchers.

Every time I write a food-based article, people suggest that I'm paying far too much by buying fruit and veg at a big-name store.

But the supermarket I usually visit always seems to have deals on fresh produce. It discounts different vegetables each week and this summer has offered loads of bags of fruit for just £1. So I've wondered if it's actually true that I could save money.

I'm fortunate to live near an award-winning indoor market, one of the largest in the north-west. In fact, there are records of a market on this site going back 750 years, although it probably didn't have a fancy dress stall back then.

But can it save me cash?

My local market

Spread across two huge indoor halls, my local market sells pretty much everything you can think of. There are three meat stalls and one proper butcher; an award-winning fishmonger; sweet stalls; mobile phone and gadget stands; clothing, hair and make-up counters; and loads more.

There's quite a fun sense of community; stall holders shouting across to each other, shoppers haggling and gossiping, kids running around. It was a very different experience to a large supermarket.

Crunching the numbers

My weekly fruit and veg shop came to a total of £10.76. Here's what I paid for each item, as well as what it would have cost me to buy at my main supermarket on the same day.

Even when you factor in parking at £1, compared to free parking at the supermarket, I've come out four quid better off for visiting the market.

I was surprised to see that I'm paying 50% more to shop at my regular, chain supermarket — I didn't think the price difference would be that considerable.

Of course, it's not only veg. I'm looking forward to seeing how much I can save on fish, cheese and bread in the future: a quick look around some of the other stalls showed me some great savings to be had elsewhere.

For example, at my regular supermarket, I'd pay £2 for a salmon fillet but on the market it's just £1.50. Not only that, but the fishmonger really knows his stuff and will happily offer advice on how to cook fish I'm not used to.

I've wanted to cut back on the salmon, cod and haddock I eat for environmental and budgetary reasons, so having someone on hand to tell me how to prepare other fish is a real perk.

Going local

The benefits of buying my fruit and veg from the market went beyond penny pinching.

I had the satisfaction of supporting a local, independent retailer. Not only that, all the vegetables and the apples had been grown locally rather than flown thousands of miles.

On top of that, the produce seemed to be bigger and healthier — and the stand had a sign up boasting that its produce went from field to stand within 18 hours. That compares to my supermarket which promises its fruit and veg will be on the shelves within 24 hours.

In the past, I've gone to farm shops to support local growers but I have often found these to be more expensive. Plus, I end up spending a small fortune on chutneys. This seems to finally be a money-saving way to go local.

So, I've saved money; I've bought fresher, bigger produce; and I've supported local growers. It's really a win-win-win situation.

Your local market

Local market stalls are obviously run by independent traders and so the savings available in different parts of the UK are likely to vary. But it's definitely worth checking out to see how much you can save.

Even if you don't start shopping there regularly, it's still interesting to see the local produce on offer.

Your local council website should carry details of your nearest market but you could also visit localmarkets.org.uk to find the most popular ones in your area.

• Felicity is Yahoo! Finance's new money-saving columnist. If you have a money-saving scheme you'd like to see tried out then let us know in the comment box below.