10 January 2024 , 00:01
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Aldi has been named the cheapest supermarket of the year for the third time in a row - beating budget rival Lidl.
Which? tracked thousands of grocery prices across eight UK supermarkets throughout 2023 and found Aldi was the cheapest for 11 months of the year. The only month Lidl was cheapest was in October.
The results for December showed a basket of 43 groceries cost £74.83 on average at Aldi, compared to £76.74 at Lidl - a price difference of just £1.91. The priciest supermarket was Waitrose, where the basket of goods cost £94.94. Waitrose was consistently the most expensive supermarket every month throughout 2023.
Which? also compared the cost of a larger trolley of more than 100 items each month. Aldi and Lidl are never included in this comparison as they do not always stock some branded products. Asda was the cheapest supermarket for a larger trolley for 11 months of the year, apart from in July when Morrisons came out top.
In December, the larger trolley contained 131 items – the same 43 as the smaller basket, plus 88 more - and included branded items, such as Andrex toilet paper and Cathedral City cheese. Asda was the cheapest supermarket in December at £326.77 while the same shop at Waitrose came to £367.79. The analysis includes special offer prices but not multi-buys or loyalty discounts.
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Ele Clark, Which? Retail Editor, said: “With food prices continuing to put immense pressure on household budgets, it’s no surprise to see many people turning to discounters like Aldi and Lidl. Our research shows that Aldi was the cheapest supermarket of 2023, with shoppers saving almost £20 there in December compared to the most expensive store.
“Which? believes that supermarkets can do more to help shoppers during the current cost of living crisis. Although some have begun to make progress, we’d like to see all supermarkets stocking their smaller convenience stores with a selection of budget-range healthy foods, particularly in those areas most in need.”
Cheapest supermarket for basket of 43 items
- Aldi - £74.83
- Lidl - £76.74
- Asda - £84.21
- Sainsbury's - £84.54
- Tesco - £84.86
- Morrisons - £87.24
- Ocado - £89.28
- Waitrose - £94.94
Cheapest supermarket for trolley of 131 items
- Asda - £326.77
- Morrisons - £336.41
- Ocado - £346.23
- Tesco - £349.34
- Sainsbury's - £354.06
- Waitrose - £367.79