The £148,000 supermarket bill

The average Briton will spend a staggering £148,000 in supermarkets over their lifetime.

And as if the financial expense is not enough, queuing and shopping there will take up around six months of our lives, new research from Clerical Medical reveals.

Britons typically visit a supermarket more than twice a week, spending over half an hour each trip, the data shows.

The average bill for the weekly shop is £63 per shopper - but three UK residents in four make 'top-up' trips on top of the main excursion.

"These results really are staggering. Shopping is one of life's necessities, but who would have thought it would take up so much of our precious time," said Clerical Medical managing director John Hiew.

But the insurer questions whether this time could be better spent.

"If we spent a fraction of that time sorting out our finances, then many more people would not be facing hardship when they retire," Mr Hiew noted.

However, 32 per cent of shoppers think they get better value for money from supermarkets. Another financial incentive for heading to large shops is free parking, cited by one Brit in 20, with others saying the convenience of longer opening hours is a factor.

But the British pound is not spent exclusively at out-of town centres - with six per cent of Brits visiting green grocers, eight per cent shopping at butchers and two per cent going to fish mongers.

However, most UK shoppers (52 per cent) think cost is the most important thing when buying fruit and vegetables rather than where and how they are grown.