Where is the cheapest online retailer to purchase children’s school uniform from?

 

School uniforms don’t come cheap, and particularly so if you’re shopping for more than one child. However, with schools required to allow more non-branded school uniform items, parents can make their money go further by exploring high street options online.

 

 

Ahead of the new school year, our researchers have investigated the prices of boy’s and girl’s uniform essentials at six leading retailers. We conducted the research to help parents with their back-to-school preparations, from purchasing new school uniforms to being stocked up with printing essentials.

 

Sainsbury’s was found to be the cheapest retailer to purchase your children’s school uniform online, with starting prices of boy’s and girl’s uniform essentials totalling just £44.

The items included in the costings were:

 

Boy’s School Uniform Girl’s School Uniform
Boy’s trousers (x2) Girl’s trousers (x2)
Boy’s polo shirts (x2) Girl’s polo shirts (x2)
Boy’s sweatshirts (x2) Girl’s cardigan (x2)
Boy’s shorts (x2) Girl’s pleated skirts (x2)

 

 

Costings & Key Findings

 

Costings were based on the starting prices of the selected uniform items, which would fit a child starting primary school, aged 3 years. The items selected were in packs of two, with the price of items sold individually doubled to allow for comparison.

Key findings from the study include:

  • Sainsbury’s is the cheapest retailer for school uniform essentials, beating Asda by £2.
  • Next is the most expensive retailer for school uniform essentials, coming in at £10 more expensive than the next retailer (John Lewis) and over double the price of Sainsbury’s.
  • Matalan ranked in third position, with their uniforms costing between £15-£17 more than the first and second ranking retailers, Sainsbury’s and Asda.

 

Ranked: The cost of school uniforms in UK retailers

 

 

Ranking Retailer Boy’s Uniform Total Girl’s Uniform Total Total Price
1 Sainsbury’s From £20 From £24 From £44
2 Asda From £20 From £26 From £46
3 Matalan From £29 From £32 From £61
4 M&S From £37 From £35 From £72
5 John Lewis From £45 From £43 From £88
6 Next From £46 From £52 From £98

 

What will my child need for the start of a new school year?

 

With the start of a new school year, it pays to be prepared with a checklist of items your child will need. To help them with upcoming homework and projects, and to avoid any deadline surprises, it’s worth exploring printer supplies, such as our ink and toner cartridges, ahead of the new school year. Be sure to also check out our free school timetable templates, perfect for staying in the know with what supplies your child will need to bring to school each day.

 

 

Methodology

 

Findings based upon purchasing a non-branded school uniform online. Data collected on the 5th and 6th August 2024, from six leading retailers. Prices are subject to change.

As the study was based on purchasing school uniforms online, Morrisons, Tesco, Aldi and Lidl were excluded from the study.

Prices based on the starting prices of selected items, which would fit a child starting primary school, aged 3 years. Please note the boys sweatshirts from John Lewis has a recorded starting price for 7-8 year olds, as the starting price for 3 year olds was not visible (due to 3 year old uniform appearing to be out of stock at this time) so there may or may not be a small price variation in the starting price here.

Items selected based on packs of two. Where items were sold individually, quantities (and therefore prices) were doubled to allow for comparison. Two items were discounted at John Lewis and have been honoured in the pricing calculations, totalling a discount of £9 (including both items) from the original prices.

 

Item selections:

 

  • Boys and girls polos are both based on unisex white polos as these were the cheapest.
  • Girls cardigan based on the cheapest cotton cardigan (excludes any jersey cardigans so the comparison is like-for-like).
  • Girls skirt based on the cheapest pleated skirt, regardless of the number of pleats.
  • Girls’ pants selected were the cheapest, regardless of the style offered.
  • Boys sweatshirts selected were the cheapest crew neck.
  • Boys shorts based on cheapest classic shorts/regular shorts/adjustable waist (all selected were grey, just Asda had black remaining in stock).
  • Boys trousers based on cheapest trousers ie. classic/regular/slim-fit/skinny (excludes any pants which were special length ie. extra long. Grey trousers were selected, with Asda having black in stock for this selected pack of trousers).

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