The UK’s cheapest supermarket is Aldi, according to research from Which? consumer champions.
Which? Conducted extensive research into the UK’s major supermarkets, including Waitrose, Aldi, Asda, Lidl, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Ocado to compare their prices and ascertain the cheapest option.
Aldi was found to be the cheapest supermarket option among the big brands as a shopping list of 67 items in April cost only £112.90.
This is £2.33 lower than its biggest competitor, Lidl whose bill totalled £115.23 on average.
At the other end of the spectrum is Waitrose which was crowned as the most expensive supermarket option with a total bill of £144.13, 28 percent more than Aldi.
The 67 items included in the sample shopping basket included essentials like milk and butter as well as branded items like Birds Eye Garden Peas, Heinz baked beans and Hovis bread.
The testing process did not account for deals only available to loyalty scheme members but did include special offer prices.
The study recommended that shoppers looking to save money while shopping to not be enticed by branded goods and should instead swap to own-brand options.
Ele Clark, Which? Retail Editor, said: “Our latest research shows that Aldi was the cheapest supermarket in April, with Lidl following closely behind once again.
“As food costs continue to weigh heavily on household finances, it’s unsurprising many people are opting to shop at discounters to save money, especially as shoppers could stand to make significant savings.”
Cheapest supermarkets April 2024
As per the shopping list of 67 items in April, the following supermarket prices are ranked from cheapest to most expensive:
- Aldi – £112.90
- Lidl – £115.23
- Asda – £126.98
- Tesco – £128.17
- Sainsbury’s – £131.02
- Morrisons – £134.87
- Ocado – £136.86
- Waitrose – £144.13.
While supermarket prices vary, grocery price inflation is falling overall across the board in the UK. According to recent research by Kantar, prices have slowed to the lowest level since October 2021.
Supermarket prices are 2.4 percent higher than a year ago, slowing for the 15th month in a row from April’s 3.2 percent.
This takes grocery inflation just 0.8 percent above the 10-year average of 1.6 percent between 2012 and 2021, just before prices began to climb.
However, cheaper supermarket own-label lines are proving resilient, and are still growing faster than brands, making up more than half (52 percent) of total spending, Kantar said.
Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, commented: “Grocery price inflation is gradually returning to what we would consider more normal levels. Typically, an inflation rate of around three percent is when we start to see marked changes in consumers’ behaviour, with shoppers trading down to cheaper items when the rate goes above this line and vice versa when the rate drops.
“However, after nearly two-and-a-half years of rapidly rising prices, it could take a bit longer for shoppers to unwind the habits they have learnt to help them manage the cost of living crisis.”
