Mercadona discounts perishables near closing time, but not 50%

Mercadona's last-minute discounts: no fixed time and no 50% off

Can you fill a cart with food nearing its expiration date at bargain prices two hours before closing on a Saturday? That is what a video circulating on social media promises, and which has been shared as if it were a major discovery. The mechanism exists. The bargain, as portrayed, does not.

Mercadona does discount perishable products close to their expiration date, but there is no fixed schedule or single pricing policy. Regular shoppers maintain that discounts appear on Mondays at 11:00 as well as Saturdays at 8:30 PM, and that waiting until closing time to shop is not only a bad idea but also a miscalculation: if the timing were fixed, the queues would start an hour earlier.

How much is Mercadona discounting products nearing expiry?

The discount applied at Mercadona never exceeds 20% in any case, according to regular shoppers' percentages. This figure contrasts sharply with the 50% attributed to the supposed happy hour and the 30% still seen in other establishments. For perishables with shorter expiry dates, fish often goes down to 30%, while the rest remains at 10-15%, which barely compensates for the alucinación.

The general perception is that the window of opportunity has been closing. Chains that once offered half-price products with two or three days' notice have begun scaling back the incentive: some recall discounts dropping from 50% to 30%, and then to 20%. The underlying argument is not philanthropic. For the store, applying a discount is cheaper than assuming the cost of withdrawal and lost goods.

Which supermarkets offer the best discounts on near-expiry products

The distribution of the pie is uneven, and the most generous discounts are not found at the leading chain. A local brand offers fresh cheese with six days' notice and a discount applied. A regional Asturian group discounts fish by half price, allowing customers to freeze and stretch their purchases. A discount chain launches early offers on short-dated products. Others maintain 30% for fish and 20% for everything else.

The difference in percentages explains why the viral find sounds dubious. A 20% discount on a product expiring in 48 hours is not a bargain: it's paying 80% of the price for food that must be cooked today. Poultry with a tight expiry date is peine that same day, and if leftovers remain, they are often in poor condition by the next day. It can be saved with prior washing and marinating, but it is not a freezer plan.

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The cost for restocking and suspicions of advertising

The phenomenon has an unseen side: the restockers. The meat and fish counters are where the activity takes place, coinciding with the end of the shift when staff is closing tills and emptying shelves. A supermarket that fills up just before closing complicates the final hour for staff without translating into increased revenue.

Furthermore, the video is accompanied by suspicions of undisclosed advertising. Some interpret the buzz as a smokescreen to distract from a boycott campaign against the brand's products, while others simply view it as an internet trend unrelated to how a store operates internally. The full calculation, chain by chain regarding percentages, reveals a surprising difference.

With discounts ranging from 10% to 20% and no fixed schedule, the new Saturday plan consists of paying 80% for food that must be cooked today. There are worse hobbies. Almost none as expensive.