Rising grocery costs and the cost of living crisis is continuing to place financial pressure on households across the country.
Supermarkets have cut the cost of some items by offering loyalty and points schemes which gives savings on some selected items. Despite this, new research from consumer champion Which? has shown that shoppers may not be saving as much as they think with these schemes.
The organisation purchased 65 of the most popular grocery items at some of Britain’s biggest supermarkets. It also carried out the same shop again at stores that included points or loyalty cards.
Overall, it found that Aldi was the cheapest supermarket with an average total cost of £118.41. This was followed closely behind by Lidl with an average cost of £121.31, reports The Manchester Evening News.
Meanwhile, the most expensive was Waitrose at £151.01, with Ocado coming second at £144.06. Those who do their regular grocery shopping at Tesco may be surprised to learn that, on average, shoppers were only just under £4 better off with the average shop being £134.30 without a Clubcard and £130.90 with one.
Sainsbury’s shoppers, however, saved a little bit more with the average shop without Nectar being £137.51 compared to £132.90 with Nectar. Which? highlighted that while Lidl, Morrisons, and Waitrose offer customers loyalty prices on certain items, none were available for the shopping items included on their lists.
Grocery costs have risen by 2.1% in the four weeks leading up to June 9, 2024 compared to the same period last year. Kantar’s market analysis also stated that prices are rising fastest for items such as chocolate, confectionery, chilled fruit juices and drinks, minerals, and supplements.
