Aldi was the cheapest supermarket in June, beating other supermarkets’ loyalty prices, Which? reveals
Aldi was the cheapest supermarket in June, according to Which? research. The discounter offered the cheapest price for a shopping list of popular items, beating Tesco (including Clubcard prices) by more than £12 and Sainsburys (including Nectar prices) by more than £14.
The consumer champion’s monthly analysis involves comparing the average prices of a shop consisting of popular groceries at eight of the UK’s biggest supermarkets.
June’s list of 65 items included a number of both branded and own-brand items, such as Birds Eye Garden Peas, Heinz baked beans, Hovis bread, milk and butter.
The cheapest supermarket for a shopping list of items in June was Aldi, where the groceries cost £118.41 on average across the month.
Fellow discounter Lidl was just behind Aldi, costing £2.90 more (£121.31 on average).
Waitrose was the most expensive supermarket last month, totalling £151.01 - a difference of £32.60 compared to Aldi - 28 per cent more.
Which? regularly reviews its methodology to ensure the information it is giving consumers is up to date as well as being reflective of their shopping habits and priorities. That is why the consumer champion will be including loyalty prices where applicable from now on. Which? will also report on the cost of the items for shoppers without a loyalty card.
For those using a Tesco Clubcard, June’s shopping list of items cost £130.90 - a difference of £12.49 compared to Aldi. Meanwhile, for those without a Clubcard, the same items at Tesco cost £134.30.
Sainsbury’s Nectar scheme members would have paid more - £132.90 - while without a Nectar card, the Sainsbury’s shop cost £137.51. Meanwhile the total at Asda was £131.42.
While Lidl, Morrisons and Waitrose do also operate two-tier pricing, their schemes are currently on a smaller scale and this month, no items on our list were available at a lower price to members of these schemes.
This latest pricing analysis from Which? demonstrates that shoppers can make considerable savings on their groceries depending on where they buy their food.
Ele Clark, Which? Retail Editor, said:
“From this month on we will be regularly including loyalty prices in our analysis. As member-only pricing continues to grow, Which? believes the sector needs to be properly scrutinised and held to account so that all shoppers - including society’s most vulnerable - can benefit, and no one is misled into believing they’re getting a better deal than they really are.
“With food prices continuing to squeeze household budgets, it comes as no surprise that many people are choosing to shop with the discounters, and Aldi has again won the cheapest supermarket title. Our analysis shows that Aldi and Lidl are still cheaper than the traditional supermarkets, even when you include loyalty pricing.”
ENDS
Notes to editors:
Research
Each month Which? compares how much supermarkets charge for a selection of groceries (this month 65 items). The data are taken, based on availability across supermarkets that month, from our longer list of around 200 items. This list is made up of some of the UK’s most popular groceries, based on industry data on sales value and availability. We include special offers and loyalty pricing where it applies but not multibuys.
Because the main list of around 200 groceries remains unchanged from month to month (other than being refreshed occasionally to reflect consumer shopping habits), Which? never shares the full list of products with retailers as we want to avoid any attempt to skew the results. We do not want supermarkets to compete with one another to lower prices only on the items they know they will be judged on. Instead we want retailers to work to make groceries affordable across the depth and breadth of their available lines.
Full table of results for June (based on 65 items):
| Retailer | Average price |
| Aldi | £118.41 |
| Lidl | £121.31 |
| Tesco (with Clubcard) | £130.90 |
| Asda | £131.42 |
| Sainsbury's (with Nectar card) | £132.90 |
| Tesco (without Clubcard) | £134.30 |
| Sainsbury's (without Nectar card) | £137.51 |
Which? looked at loyalty pricing for Lidl, Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrisons and Waitrose, but only Tesco and Sainsbury's had items on our shopping list with a loyalty price this month. Asda doesn't have two-tier loyalty pricing. Its loyalty scheme is based on points and personalised rewards, not lower prices for every scheme member.
As there are restrictions on who can access loyalty prices, Which? will only award a cheapest supermarket endorsement to the retailer with the lowest prices that are available to all consumers.
Useful links:
Which?'s previous investigation into loyalty prices
Cheapest supermarket monthly analysis
About Which?
Which? is the UK’s consumer champion, here to make life simpler, fairer and safer for everyone. Our research gets to the heart of consumer issues, our advice is impartial, and our rigorous product tests lead to expert recommendations. We’re the independent consumer voice that influences politicians and lawmakers, investigates, holds businesses to account and makes change happen. As an organisation we’re not for profit and all for making consumers more powerful.
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