The best times to get reduced food at Tesco, M&S, Sainsbury's, Aldi and Lidl over Christmas

With Christmas Day now hours away, its likely that you've already spent a small fortune ahead of the big day.

While there are plenty of festive deals on offer, the cost of Christmas food and drink soon piles up, with many looking to save money where they can as we head into the new year.

Luckily, there is a way to slash the cost of your supermarket shop - and it comes in the form of the fabled reduced sticker.

Read more:Christmas shopping tensions run high in ‘trolley rage’ and fight over Brussels sprouts reported

More often than not, supermarkets are left with a mass of stock that they need to shift, with thrifty shoppers able to pick up treats for just a fraction of their original price.

As a rough guide, the first yellow stickers tend to appear mid-morning, while the larger reductions begin in the early evening, when stores cut prices by 75 per cent or more.

But reduction times vary not just by supermarket chain but by individual branches, and can also be dependent on opening times. Believe it or not, the very end of the day isn't necessarily the best time to go yellow sticker hunting.

To help you out in your quest for bargains, here is a list of store-by-store instructions of the best times to get your hands on some major savings.

Tesco

According to Martin Lewis's MoneySavingExpert website, Tesco has no hard or fast rule on the ideal time to find discounts

However, reports from shop-floor staff suggest that reductions start as early as 8am and big discounts materialise early evening – but often this will depend on individual stores' opening times.

For smaller Express stores, it has been suggested that the best time to go is after 8pm or around half an hour before closing time.

M&S

M&S shoppers have reported seeing final reductions made at 6.30pm in stores which close at 7pm, and at 8pm in stores closing at 9pm.

One also revealed that M&S often marks down items that are approaching their sell-by date "just after lunch".

Asda

The best deals at Asda usually pop up at around 7pm when the round of yellow sticker discounts are applied.

However, don't hang around too long as frequent shoppers say most reductions are usually gone by 9pm.

Morrisons

Like Tesco, Morrisons have also said that there is no set policy of when and how items are reduced - with this decision taken by individual store managers instead.

However, shoppers on MoneySavingExpert say that reductions tend to start in the late morning or around lunchtime.

Lidl

At Lidl, price reductions tend to start as early as possible, so make sure you're down there quickly if you're after the best deals.

Food items marked with orange stickers are priced at 30% off, but if food doesn't sell, final reductions normally start around lunchtime onwards and these stickers get replaced with green "Waste Not" 20p or 70p stickers.

Sainsbury's

Sainsbury's discounts very much vary from store to store - but according to shoppers, the supermarket tends to reduce items by up to 25% at 1pm, up to 50% at 5pm and then again by 75% at 8pm.

Aldi

Unlike a lot of other supermarkets, Aldi starts to reduce their foods in the morning - sometimes by around 50%.

A few bargain hunters shared their success at the budget chain on Facebook group LatestDeals, with one writing "Turns out going to Aldi at 8am is not only quiet, but a bargain fest too".

When food is a day away from its expiry, these items are given additional 75% off stickers.

Waitrose

Waitrose reductions can vary from store to store - but, like Aldi, most of its branches start to reduce items in the mornings.

However, other shoppers have said yellow-sticker discounts usually appear after 6pm - with greater savings available at smaller stores compared to larger ones.

Christmas Eve is also a great time for bargain hunters with Waitrose often making huge discounts as they look to discard their stock, with deals including £1 turkeys.

Co-op

Discounts at Co-op again varies by store, with one former staff member telling Martin Lewis that items which expire that day tend to have a 50% discount and with reductions increasing in the evening, usually at around 5pm.

However, another MoneySaver said you have to wait until 8pm for 75% discounts.

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