Retail Arbitrage Series: Savers

Welcome back to the Retail Arbitrage series. Sticking with the health, beauty, and personal care theme from the last two posts on Boots and Superdrug, today we’re focusing on what I believe is the best of the bunch, Savers. Savers offers some of the most ridiculous discounts and profitable items all year round, and you can genuinely build a strong portion of your RA portfolio from this store. Over the last couple of years, I’ve found some of my best retail arbitrage leads in Savers. That said, the downside is that many people also know about it, so you’ll have to move fast to avoid products being bricked. Let’s break down how to get the most out of the store.

How Savers Works

Savers stores are typically located in town Centre’s, laid out in long aisles by category. You’ll find sections for:

• Vitamins and supplements
• Dental care
• Hair care
• Skincare and cosmetics
• Male and female grooming
• Household and kitchen essentials
• Toiletries and body care

There are deals to be found in every aisle. You won’t see obvious clearance zones like you would in other stores, but what makes Savers great is that so many of their standard products are deeply discounted already.

Summer 2024 was an insane season for Savers. They ran some incredible fat burner promotions and even had certain lip balm products flying off the shelves with huge ROI. That summer, a big part of my success was fuelled by deals found in Savers while I was in the full swing of RA.

Savers also has an online store, though it’s a bit limited. You can only order a maximum of 6 units per item, and you’ll need to spend £50+ to avoid delivery charges. Still, it can be a good source for scoping out leads before hitting your local store.

Where to Find Profitable Items

Finding profit in Savers is all about volume scanning and brand awareness.

• If it’s a recognisable brand, scan it.
• You won’t find traditional clearance, so it’s about scanning and checking as many items as possible.
• Spend a decent amount of time in store, Savers rewards persistence.

Key product types to check:

• Dermalex – often sells well when priced right
• Fat burners – especially in spring and summer
• Lip balms and skin creams – fast sellers with decent margin
• Maybelline foundations and cosmetics – regular stock with solid profits
• Multi-packable products – be careful though as receipts wont match multi pack!

The online store can also guide you, if you find something profitable online, there’s a good chance you’ll find it in store too.

How Clearance Works

There’s no formal clearance system in Savers. Everything is already discounted, so the real value is found directly on the shelf.

That said, some stores have a small clearance basket near the tills. If it’s there, it’s worth scanning. If not, just get to work on the shelves.

• No red or yellow stickers like Boots or Superdrug, just scan everything that looks promising
• Focus on recognisable brands and seasonal products

Best Time of Year for Savers

Savers has a few strong seasonal patterns worth tracking:

• Spring/Early Summer – Dermalex drops (highly profitable but get bricked quickly)
• Summer – Fat burners, insect repellent, sun lotion, these absolutely fly
• Q4 – Aftershaves, perfumes, gift sets (especially Lynx gift sets they were unreal in 2024)

Products sell fast, but they move fast too. So if something gets bricked, don’t panic, just sit tight and they’ll likely recover in a month.

Savers Hacks

• Check online before visiting – You can order online (up to 6 units per item) or check what’s in stock
• Scan everything – Be relentless.
• Visit when you’re in the town centre, Savers are only found in central areas, so make it part of your town centre route
• Build relationships with staff – They’ll often give you a heads up when stock comes in
• Check the bottom drawers – These are built into the shelves; staff might store overflow stock there. Ask politely and they’ll often help you out

Pros and Cons of Savers

Pros

• Big brand items at discounted prices
• Multiple stores across different towns with similar stock
• Staff are generally reseller friendly
• Some of the fastest selling seasonal items (sun lotion, fat burners, lip care)
• Ideal for building out bundles and multi-packs
• Profitable all year round

Cons

• High chance of items getting bricked due to popularity
• Time consuming, you’ll need to scan a lot
• No cashback or click & collect options
• Receipts may not be great for multi pack proof if needed
• No store locator showing exact stock, all manual