Aldi was the cheapest supermarket in September, 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 59 items was Aldi, where the groceries cost £102.68 on average across the month.
Fellow discounter Lidl was just behind Aldi in September, costing £1.18 more (£103.86 on average).
Waitrose was the most expensive supermarket this month, totalling £130.37 on average - a difference of £27.69 compared to Aldi - 27 per cent more.
The list of 59 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.
Tesco Clubcard members would have paid £112.96 on average - while without a Clubcard, the Tesco shop cost £113.35.
For those using a Sainsbury’s Nectar card, September's shopping list of items averaged £113.79, which is £11.11 more than at Aldi and still higher than the prices at Lidl (£103.86), Asda (£112.19) and Tesco (£112.96/£113.35). Without a Nectar card, the same items at Sainsbury’s cost £119.19.
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 Which?’s shopping 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:
“Our latest monthly analysis once again sees Aldi crowned as the UK’s cheapest supermarket.
“Given the ongoing strain of high food prices on household budgets, it's understandable that many people are choosing discounters to cut costs. By switching supermarkets, consumers could save 21 per cent, highlighting the advantages of shopping around."
ENDS
Notes to editors:
Research
Each month Which? compares how much supermarkets charge for a selection of groceries (this month 59 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 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 September (based on 59 items) in price order:
| Retailer | Average price |
|---|---|
| Aldi | £102.68 |
| Lidl | £103.86 |
| Asda | £112.19 |
| Tesco (with Clubcard) | £112.96 |
| Tesco (without Clubcard) | £113.35 |
| Sainsbury's (with Nectar) | £113.79 |
| Morrisons | £119.18 |
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:
Cheapest supermarket monthly analysis
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.