Aldi was the cheapest supermarket in November, Which? reveals
The consumer champion’s monthly analysis involves comparing the average price of a shop consisting of popular groceries at eight of the UK’s biggest supermarkets.
The cheapest supermarket for a shopping list of 55 items was Aldi, where the groceries cost £97.89 on average across the month.
Fellow discounter Lidl was just behind Aldi in November, costing only 38p more with the supermarket’s loyalty scheme Lidl Plus and 45p more without (£98.27/£98.34 on average).
This month, for a bigger shop of 159 items, a Tesco shop with a Clubcard has beaten Asda.
Tesco (with a Clubcard) came out cheapest at £399.73, beating Asda’s big shop by £9.63 (£409.36). Waitrose was the most expensive costing £452.09. Aldi and Lidl are not included in that comparison as they have a smaller range of products compared to the other supermarkets.
Waitrose was the most expensive supermarket for a smaller list of items this month too, totalling £123.32 on average - a difference of £25.43 compared to Aldi - 26 per cent more.
The list of 55 items included both branded and own-brand items, such as Birds Eye Peas, Hovis bread, milk and butter.
The analysis includes special offer prices and loyalty prices where applicable, but not multibuys.
For the smaller shop, Tesco Clubcard members would have paid £105.61 on average - while without a Clubcard, the Tesco shop cost £108.45.
For those using a Sainsbury’s Nectar card, November’s shopping list of items averaged £106.71, which is £8.82 more than at Aldi. Without a Nectar card, the same items at Sainsbury’s cost £112.06.
This latest pricing analysis from Which? demonstrates that shoppers can make considerable savings on their groceries depending on where they buy their food.
Harry Rose, Editor of Which? magazine, said:
“Our latest monthly analysis once again sees Aldi crowned as the UK’s cheapest supermarket, however Lidl remains hot on its discounter rival’s heels.
“With Christmas just around the corner, people are looking to cut costs where they can. Our analysis shows that by switching supermarkets consumers could save up to 21 per cent, highlighting the advantages of shopping around where possible."
ENDS
Notes to editors:
Research
Each month Which? compares how much supermarkets charge for a selection of groceries (this month 55 items). The data are taken, based on availability across supermarkets that month, from our longer list of around 200 items (this month 159 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 discounts 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 November (based on 55 items) in price order:
| Retailer | Average price |
| Aldi | £97.89 |
| Lidl with Lidl Plus | £98.27 |
| Lidl | £98.34 |
| Tesco (with Clubcard) | £105.61 |
| Sainsbury's (with Nectar) | £106.71 |
| Tesco (without Clubcard) | £108.45 |
| Asda | £108.73 |
Results for the bigger shop are available upon request
Average price
We check the prices of hundreds of grocery items at eight major supermarkets every day throughout the year, using an independent price comparison website. For each supermarket, we work out the average price of each item across the month, then add those up to get each store’s average price.
Our shopping list comprises the country’s most popular and widely available groceries, based on extensive market analysis. It includes branded items such as Cathedral City cheddar and Hellmann's mayonnaise, as well as own-brand products such as potatoes and baked beans.
Own-brand items won’t be identical across supermarkets, but we’ve ensured everything we’ve compared is as similar as possible based on a number of factors, including quality and weight.
Loyalty pricing
Which? looked at loyalty pricing for Lidl, Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrisons and Waitrose, but none of the items on our shopping list had a loyalty price at Waitrose this month.
Asda's Rewards scheme offers cashback on products with loyalty promotions. For example, members would have earned £2.77 cashback on our bigger shop of 159 items. We haven't factored this into our main analysis because loyalty members don't receive a discount on the day and the cashback is only redeemable at Asda, within a limited period (up to nine months) and in increments of £1.
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:
Cheapest supermarket monthly analysis - big and small shop
Millions of people excluded from lower prices at big stores
How to spend less at the supermarket
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.
The information in this press release is for editorial use by journalists and media outlets only. Any business seeking to reproduce information in this release should contact the Which? Endorsement Scheme team at endorsementscheme@which.co.uk.