There was a £14.30 difference between the cheapest & most expensive supermarket in August
The cost of living crisis has hit many people hard, making it increasingly important to save money where possible. One of the best ways to do this is by choosing the right supermarket for your shopping needs. The consumer champion, Which? has once again released its monthly supermarket comparison, and the results show that Aldi has been named the UK's cheapest supermarket for the fifteenth month running.
Every month, the consumer champion compares how much some of the UK’s biggest supermarkets charge for a trolley of groceries, including everything from bread to toothpaste. Which? compares hundreds of grocery prices at Aldi, Asda, Lidl, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose to reveal the cheapest supermarket.
The cheapest supermarket this month was Aldi, where a basket of goods cost £65.21 on average across the month. Lidl placed behind Aldi with a difference of £1.32 (£66.53). Aldi has remained the cheapest supermarket since May 2022.
In comparison, Waitrose came out as the most expensive this month, with a basket of goods totalling £79.51, which is 22 per cent more than Aldi, which equates to £14.30.
Which? also compared the cost of a larger trolley of 133 items – the original 37, plus 96 more. These included a larger number of branded items, such as Andrex toilet paper and Cathedral City cheese, and did not include discounter supermarkets Aldi and Lidl, as they do not always stock some of these products.
This month, Asda was the cheapest for this larger trolley of groceries, pushing Morrisons back into second place after it beat Asda last month. In August 2023, it cost £325.35 on average for this shop, beating the next cheapest, Morrisons (£341.28), by £15.93.
Waitrose was £43.69 more expensive than Asda, coming in at £369.04 or 13 per cent more, on average, for the trolley of comparable goods.
This latest pricing analysis from Which? demonstrates that shoppers can make considerable savings on their groceries depending on where they buy their food. However, even budget ranges at the discounters have risen in price significantly, and with most of the traditional supermarkets’ convenience stores failing to offer or stock budget lines, the consumer champion believes supermarkets must do more to help their customers.
Which? has found that while some good practice exists, many of the major supermarkets have not done enough to support their customers during the cost of living crisis.
Supermarkets could be doing more by ensuring smaller convenience stores stock a range of essential budget lines that support a healthy diet, especially in areas where they are most needed. Morrisons recently led by example by committing to stocking 40 of its budget items in its smaller convenience stores in the coming weeks.
Supermarkets also need to ensure unit pricing is clear so that customers can easily work out the best value products. This includes providing unit pricing on loyalty card prices.
Given the urgency of this cost of living crisis, Which? is calling on the government to act now and work with supermarkets to secure these changes that could make a real difference to millions of people struggling to put food on the table.
Ele Clark, Which? Retail Editor, said:
“The cost of living crisis is taking its toll on households up and down the country, and with many turning to discounters for their food shop, it is no surprise that our latest research shows that once again, Aldi is the cheapest supermarket.
“Which? believes that supermarkets are failing to adequately help shoppers during the current crisis. They must ensure everyone has easy access to basic, affordable food ranges at a store near them – including providing a range of essential budget lines that support a healthy diet in smaller convenience stores. They must also provide transparent and comparable pricing so people can easily work out which products offer the best value.”
Notes:
Every month, the consumer champion compares how much some of the UK’s biggest supermarkets charge for a basket and trolley of groceries, including everything from bread to toothpaste. Which? compares hundreds of grocery prices at Aldi, Asda, Lidl, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose to reveal the cheapest supermarket.
For its ‘cheapest supermarket of the month’ analysis, Which? works out the average price for each item at each supermarket across the month and adds this up to get an average trolley price for each store.
Which? includes special offer prices but not multi-buys or loyalty discounts to keep it as fair as possible. The shopping list combines branded items such as Heinz baked beans and PG Tips tea bags with own-label products, including milk and pasta. Of course, own-brand items aren’t exactly the same at different supermarkets, but Which? uses experts to ensure that the products are as comparable as possible based on a range of factors, including weight and quality.