Asda is our main 'walmart'/ supermarket that we shop at once a month. Our weekly 'top up's are usually done in supermarkets like Tesco, Asda, Aldi Lidl etc...so I can compare Asda to a few of the other main ones in my review.

Asda is part of the 'Walmart' family, which is bascially a chain of discount stores worldwide. 'ASDA' is actually as aquisition of the names 'ASquith' and 'DAiry' because Asda was formed by a guy called Peter Asquith, who owned a Butchery and sought a company called 'Associated Dairies' to take over. It is reknown for it's discount prices, both as a grocery supermarket and also in its own branded clothes section called 'George'.

******** Store info*********

Asda is open from 8am till 10pm on weekdays/ saturday and 10am till 4pm on Sundays. Our Asda is a Walmart so it is actualyl open until 12pm on a Monday and 24hrs on Tue - Fri.
The main colour that denotes Asda is green. Sainsbury's is orange and Tesco is blue (just for your info). Whereas Tesco and sainsbury use a certain catchphrase to represent their company (Tesco is 'everylittle helps' and Sainsbury is 'try something new today' though I',m sure it used to be 'making life taste better'), Asda uses the popular pocket slap jingle 'That's Asda price'. The advirtisments usually consist of people smacking their back pockets when they recieve value.

All Asda stores usually look the same: a big plastic shelter where trolleys are kept just before you walk in. The walkin usually has a couple of those machines that Kids ride on; a money sorting machine and disablity electronic cars. All produce is sorted into aisles, like 'Dairy and chilled' , 'meats' , 'tins and jars' etc... I swear that when I was younger, Asda used to keep eggs and milk on a massive shelf that was built to look like a barn, with cows and chickens. There were buttons that you could press and they would make a mooing or clucking noise. I can see why they got rid of it though - it got really annoying when kids kept pusing the buttons!

******Produce******

Asda stocks all the big main brands of products, like Heinz, Kelloggs, Nestle, etc... as well as it's own brand on basically every branded product. All own brand stuff is cheaper than the main brand and is usually just as good in quality. For example, Asda's range of cereals such as 'Wheat biscuits' (Weetabix), 'Vitality' (Special K), 'Rice snaps' (rice krispies) etc... are all very good and sometimes, some of the own branded products are actually healthier than the main brands, as they fortify extra vitamins and nutrition. Plus, they have their own brands on realyl minor things which I love, like jelly crystals, where I can pay just 29p for a 2 sachet pack rather than 59p of a Hartley's 2 sachet pack (and they taste better!).

Speaking of nutrition, Asda do their own range of healthier produce which is called 'good for you.' Most supermarkets are doing this now, what with government cristicism on obsity levels. Tesco call their range 'Healthy living', Sainsbury 'Be good to yourdself' and Morrisons 'smart choice'. The 'Good for you' range can be quite expensive and priced higher than the normal product; I fail to comprehend with this concept. They want us to eat healthier yet put the prices up for healthier food? For example, a 'good for you' boxed dinner can cost as much as £2.49, whereas the same standard boxed meal will cost half this amount but have double the fat and calories. I must applaude Asda's 'GFY' (as abbreviated) range however because they really are healthier alternatives. Now, Tesco's 'Healthy Living range' are not usually all that healthy. The produce is simply lower in fat or calories than the standard but not acutally healthier. For example, Tesco consider a tikka curry at 499kcal to be 'Healthy living'. Personally, 500kcal for a boxed curry is still way too high. Asda's brand is 100kcal less.

Asda have recently introduced a healthy food range for kids, called 'Great stuff' which apparently, has all been taste tested by kids, strict limits of fat and sugar and is nutritionally endorsed.

With regards to product nutrition, Asda's own brand products are usually lower in fat and calories than other supermarkets, like the pitta breads, enlgish muffins, yogurts, boxed meals and frozen produce.

Asda also do a 'smart price range' which is basically, really really cheap priced stuff, from apple sauce to juice to micro meals, to yogurts etc...Most of them are really nice. Of course we wary of the nutrition; these may be slightly unhealthy due to cheap ingredients used. Watch out for cheap meat aswell; make sure you aren't getting all the gunk.
Some of the smart price stuff is vile like the Rice Krispies and coco pop alternatives and a few watery ready meals but other than that, most of the stuff is really nice. I particually like their smart price Apple sauce and creme caramels. Bread is bread in my opinion but the value stuff like 'brown bread' literally means 'brown bread'; not 'wholemeal' and has a really short use-by date.

I love the instore bakery; it's my favourite part of the shop. They do the best White 'hedgehog bread', white tin loaves, wholemeal tin loaves; farmhouse, rustic...etc... (I love bread) and they are all really well priced.

Where they have a 'smart price range' they also have an 'extra special' range which is basically, more expensive, higher quality food from boxed meals to cakes to dairy. It's supposed to taste better but I personally really taste the difference between a average sponge cake at say 98p and an 'Extra Special one' at £1.49. Moreover, most the Extra Special' stuff isn't nutritionally healthy as they use fatening high quality ingredients (e.g. Cornish clotted cream in scones or double cream in meals etc...). In saying this, I am in love with their 'Extra Special Hasselback potaotoes' which are actually low fat and calorie.

***** Pricing*********

As I have mentioned, Asda is a discount strore and very cheap. If you are aware of the competition between Tesco and Asda on the TV, you will have seen the advirtisments wherby one supermarket will claim - 'On a product price check we found that X (Supermarket A) but 'this many' items cheaper than 'x' (Supermarket B').

What you'll pay for each item varies on the quality and there are the 3 brands to chose from: The 'Smart Price' the 'Standard' and the 'Extra Special'. The variance is huge. For example, a 'Smart Price' yogurt can cost as little as 9p each. A standard one about 49p and an 'Extra special' at about £1.20. It's great to have a choice really. I mean, if you're buying stuff for a kids buffet, obviously you can stock up on tons of 'Smart price' fairy cakes at 49p for a pack of about 12 rather than pay 49p for a pack of 6, or a massive value pack of crispys for just 40p.

One of the joys I find at Asda is the fact that when produce is reduced it really is reduced! I mean, by over half. For example, a £1.09 5 pack of cookies will be slashed to 49p! Or garlic breads, chicken breast slices etc...usually all under £1! It's worth stocking up on this stuff because most of the food can be frozen anyway. I always head straight to the reduced sections when we go for our shop. When I finish my accoutancy course at 9:15pm I always pop in Asda on teh way back and filling my bag with loaves of bread and whole baguettes for just 5p!! Or packs of doughnuts, egg custards and family apple pies for 10P!!!
Sometimes, there is absolutey nothing wrong with the product, it simply has a damaged packaging.

Asda do regular offers like 'Roll back' which means the nomal price of the product has been lowered. For me, it's usually on stuff I don't need, like nappies (obviously) but they usually have it on branded products aswell, like yogurts and sauces. I remember they once did Muller rices for just 20p each! There's also 'Multibuy' offers like 'buy 2 for £2.50' or '3 for £1'. These often work out to be really good value for money. On your receipt, it actually tells you how much you have saved by picking these offers. We once saved £30!

*****Checkouts******

There's a self serve checkout for those in a hurry and seperate tills if you have 5 items or less as the main tills can become really crowded. However, you'll usually be waiting in the '5 items or less' stand than you would at a regular checkout.

***Staff***********

Obviously, this may not true for all Asda Supermarkets but I find the staff really friendly and helpful. If you ask where something is, they'll often take you there. It you ask if something is in stock, they'll go check; they really are 'Happy to help' (as their name badges indicate).

***Cafe***********

Asda do their own cafe where you can pop in and sit down for hot and cold snacks, dinners, breakfast and drinks etc... I have never been in but it's always full so it seems to be popular. The menu is extensive with stuff for kids aswell and a buffet bar.

****George*******

Asda offer clothes and jewellery for men, women and children. There's a wide variety of choice in each section and some absolute bargains, like £3 for a two pack of blouses!

******* Deli counter*********

At the delic counter you can have your own pizzas made to order, pick fresh meats, fish and cheese and ready to cook meals. It isn't really as fancy or the range as extensive as Morrisons but it's ok.

*******Technology********

There's a seperate sections for CD's, DVDs and stuff like mobiles, computers etc... The CD's and DVD's are really well priced and are sometimes reduced to jut £3!

*****Home and living******

There's bits for the house, like tableware, cups, cushions, curtains, tables etc..again, usally really cheap. I once saw a bog computer desk on offer for £20. It really is worth checking out before going elsewhere. You've also got sections for books, stationery, magazines, cards, parties, gifting, gardening, baby and toddler etc... the list goes on!

*****Praises********
* Wide variety of products including own branded/ healthy own branded/ value branded
* Usually very cheap but good quality
*Reduced items (as well as on main brands)
*Rolls backs and mulitbuy offers last for a really long time

*****Criticisms*******(These may not be true of all stores)

• Sometimes, there is moudly stuff still stocked on the shleves or bung behind all the other stuff
• Everytime I want something they seems to be out of stock
• Aisles are narrow - you can barely squeeze past another trolley
• Certain items aren't permanent and only appear on the shelves for about a mouth then you never see them again

Overall, I am very loyal to Asda. They do a lot of produce that I prefer to other supermarkets and I particually enjoy their 'good for you range'. I think the range is fantastic and it's great that offers are always varied and not centred on one thing, like sauces or pizzas.