Four things you should always buy at Poundland – and three items to avoid
POUNDLAND is known for drawing shoppers in with its bargain homeware, garden essentials, toys and much more.
There really is something for everyone at Poundland and it can be a great desgination for shoppers on a budget.
But it's easy to be distracted by all the deals, so knowing exactly what to hunt for is essential.
Poundland has over 850 stores across the UK, and over 100 branches are set to get a facelift this year.
The Sun was given a sneak peek inside Poundland’s new look stores as the bargain chain’s boss reveals five big changes.
But you might have been to your local branch recently and, faced with rows and rows of items and not knowing where to start.
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We reveal the four things you should always buy at the chain and the things you should leave firmly behind.
You can also pick up great dupes, as well as something to deck out your garden now the sun is out.
But even though most things are priced at just £1, it can all quickly add up - so here's what to look out for next time you shop.
What you should buy at Poundland
Gadgets and gizmos
Poundland stocks a whole range of gadgets including wireless phone chargers for the car, fitness trackers, Bluetooth speakers, headphones and more.
Its products are much cheaper than plenty of the tech heavy weights like Apple or Samsung.
Poundland's prices start from just £1.50 for charger cables, mobile selfie lights, phone cases, USB plugs and power banks.
You can also get a wireless mouse for £4 or a stylus pen - a tool for touching screens such as phones or tablets - for just £1.
Make-up and smellies
The budget store even stocks its own beauty range too, which means skipping a visit to Superdrug or Boots, and paying even less.
Poundland stocks £1 perfumes that fans have said are exact dupes of pricey designer versions including YSL’s Black Opium, Marc Jacobs Daisy and Jo Malone.
Some have even said you can avoid paying upwards of £120 for the same great smell of YSL by opting for the cheaper dupes too.
We recently shared some of the top five perfume dupes spotted in Poundland.
A HISTORY OF POUNDLAND
POUNDLAND was founded in December 1990 by Dave Dodd and Steven Smith.
The first store opened in the Octagon Centre in Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire.
The pair stocked 624 products and took £13,000 on the first day.
The concept was simple yet innovative – all items in the store were priced at £1, capitalizing on the popularity of fixed-price retailing.
The early success of the first store led to rapid expansion throughout the 1990s.
By 2000, Poundland had established itself as a major player in the discount retail market and in 2002, the private equity firm Advent International acquired the business for £50 million.
In 2010, Poundland ventured into the Republic of Ireland, opening stores under the Dealz brand, which operated on the same fixed-price model but priced items at €1.50.
Poundland then went public in March 2014, listing on the London Stock Exchange.
In 2016, Poundland was acquired by Steinhoff International, a South African retail holding company, for £610 million. This acquisition brought Poundland under the umbrella of a global retail conglomerate called Pepco Group.
Responding to market pressures and the need for greater flexibility, Poundland began to introduce items priced at more than £1 in 2017.
In 2019, Poundland announced plans to revamp its stores and broaden its product range.
This included rolling out new categories such as chilled and frozen food and investing in store refurbishments to improve the shopping experience.
In March 2022 Poundland acquired Poundshop.com which later became Poundland.co.uk giving customers the ability to shop online for the first time.
Today, Poundland has a network of over 850 stores in the UK and under the Dealz brand in the Republic of Ireland.
Kids clothing
Poundland even has a range of clothing called Pep&Co where you can pick up kids clothing for as little as £2.
Not only that they do womenswear and menswear too, so all the family can get kitted out at very reasonable prices.
On the website womens t-shirts are advertised from as low as £2.50, although you cannot purchase online you can use the store locator to find a shop nearest to you.
Under this brand there is also a range of homewares, with prices as low as £5 for a shower curtain.
Your lunch
Poundland is set to launch a brand new meal deal that is cheaper than Tesco's and Sainsbury's/
That means lunch is sorted if you've only a few quid to spare in your pocket.
The bargain retailer is bringing in a meal deal with a main, drink and side for just £3 within weeks and there are over 400 items to choose from in the range.
Tesco's meal deal was well-known for being £3 for years but it is now £3.90, or £3.40 for those with a Clubcard.
This currently makes it the cheapest option among major supermarkets, but Poundland's deal will pip it by 40p.
For mains, shoppers can pick between sandwiches, wraps, salads, sushi and rolls.
Options include ham and cheese, chicken and bacon and tuna salad sandwiches as well as chicken tikka wraps and pasta salads.
Sides include pastries, chocolate, crisps, fruit and meat trays, while there are around 200 drinks to choose from.
How does Poundland's meal deal compare?
Here's how Poundland's meal deal compare to other retailers:
- Asda Express - £3.75
- Boots - £3.60-£4.99
- Co-Op - £3.50 (loyalty price) or £4 for core and £5 (loyalty price) or £5.50 for premium
- M&S - £6
- Morrisons - £3.50 (loyalty price) or £4 for core and £5 (loyalty price) or £5.50 for premium
- Sainsbury's - £3.50 for core or £5 for premium
- Tesco - £3.40 (Clubcard) or £3.90 for core and £5 (Clubcard) or £5.50
- Waitrose - £5
- WHSmiths - £5.50
Out of all the major retailers, Poundland's meal deal is substantially cheaper.
What you shouldn't buy at Poundland
DIY tools
Got some odd jobs that need doing around the house? You should probably avoid picking up the tools you need from Poundland.
They may be cheap but could become more hassle than they're worth later down the line.
Jackie Annet on her Broke in Bristol Blog said: "When I last used a pound shop paint brush, I had more bristles on the wall than the brush! Try Wilko instead."
You can pick up a paintbrush from as little as £1 from certified DIY store B&Q too, it's more likely to last longer so you'll get more for your money.
Kitchen utensils
You might be tempted to pick up kitchenware from Poundland, but it doesn't quite meet the same quality as rivals.
Peelers or scissors and more have been dubbed cheap and cheerful, but not very practical.
Yvonne Hudduma revealed on her Money Saving Tips Youtube page that the cheaper instruments will leave you spending more in the long run when you end up buying double or replacing them all together.
She revealed to her 4.19K subscribers that the kitchen kit is just not sharp enough, so tools end up breaking or not working how they should, meaning they're destined for the bin.
She also mentioned things like sticky notes aren't worth the change in your pocket either, as in just the same way they're not sticky enough - and therefore a bit redundant.
Batteries
With energy bills remaining high, a cheap alternative to plugging something into the wall is to buy the battery operated alternative.
It does mean you need to buy the batteries to power your new appliance, so you might turn to Poundland if you're on a budget.
Plenty of fans have said that its batteries aren't up to scratch - though they may be cheap, they don't last very long which means you'll have to stock up on more, making more purchases.
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They might be worth it for a TV remotes or your little one's latest toy, but anything using a lot of power is going to drain through the batteries quicker than you can fish out your next pound coin.
You've been shopping at Poundland all wrong - here are four ways to save money.
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