THE cheapest supermarket in the last month has been revealed – and it could save you almost £50 on a big shop.
Aldi has come out on top as the cheapest of the UK’s eight biggest supermarkets, beating back rivals Lidl, Asda and Tesco.
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That’s according to consumer group Which?, which compared the price of a shopping list of 79 popular items at each supermarket.
The shopping list included items such as Birds Eye peas, Hovis bread, milk and butter.
The survey took into account special offer prices and loyalty card reductions, but not multibuys.
At Aldi, a trolley of these 79 items would have cost you £135.95 on average across April.
Rival Lidl was close behind, with the same shop costing 69p more (£136.64) if you have a Lidl Plus card.
For non-loyalty card holders, it was a penny more at £136.65 on average.
The next cheapest was Asda – which moved its way up into third place after losing out to Tesco last month.
The basket of 79 items would cost you £150.06 at Asda – a price jump of £14.11 compared with Aldi.
Tesco followed close behind – but only if shoppers had a ClubCard.
Those with the loyalty discount could get the trolley of items for £151.11.
Sainsbury’s customers with a Nectar card would pay £152.57 – just 2p less than Tesco shoppers without a ClubCard.
Morrisons More Card holders could get the trolley of items for £157.15.
The most expensive places to shop for grocery items were Ocado and Waitrose.
An Ocado shop came in at £170.98.
But Waitrose was by far the most expensive at £184.19 – almost £50 more expensive than a similar shop in Aldi.
Which? retail editor Reena Sewraz, said: “Aldi has retained its crown as the UK’s cheapest supermarket in our monthly price analysis for April, however, Lidl remains a close contender.
“Food prices are still high and are likely to rise again so it’s likely that many people will be looking to cut costs where they can.
“Our analysis shows that by switching supermarkets, shoppers could pay up to 26% less, highlighting the advantages of shopping around where possible.”
Which? also compared prices for a bigger shopping list of 200 items.
Aldi and Lidl are left out of this comparison because they have smaller ranges.
It meant Asda came out on top as the cheapest supermarket, at £505.79 for the list of 200 items.
That’s a huge £65.10 cheaper than the most expensive supermarket, Waitrose, which would cost you £570.89.
The second cheapest supermarket was Tesco – although again, only if you have a ClubCard.
Shoppers with the loyalty card would pay £510.25.
See how the rest of the supermarkets fared here…
- Sainsbury’s (Nectar Card holders) – £517.64
- Morrisons (More Card holders) – £521.84
- Tesco (without loyalty card) – £543.29
- Ocado – £548.32
- Sainsbury’s (without loyalty card) – £553.17
- Waitrose – £570.89
Which? looks at the prices of hundreds of grocery items throughout the year using an independent price comparison website.
Although own-brand items aren’t identical, the consumer site said it tries to make sure the products being compared are as similar as possible.
How to save money on your food shop
Consumer reporter Sam Walker reveals how you can save hundreds of pounds a year:
Odd boxes – plenty of retailers offer slightly misshapen fruit and veg or surplus food at a discounted price.
Lidl sells five kilos of fruit and veg for just £1.50 through its Waste Not scheme while Aldi shoppers can get Too Good to Go bags which contain £10 worth of all kinds of products for £3.30.
Sainsbury’s also sells £2 “Taste Me, Don’t Waste Me” fruit and veg boxes to help shoppers reduced food waste and save cash.
Food waste apps – food waste apps work by helping shops, cafes, restaurants and other businesses shift stock that is due to go out of date and passing it on to members of the public.
Some of the most notable ones include Too Good to Go and Olio.
Too Good to Go’s app is free to sign up to and is used by millions of people across the UK, letting users buy food at a discount.
Olio works similarly, except users can collect both food and other household items for free from neighbours and businesses.
Yellow sticker bargains – yellow sticker bargains, sometimes orange and red in certain supermarkets, are a great way of getting food on the cheap.
But what time to head out to get the best deals varies depending on the retailer. You can see the best times for each supermarket here.
Super cheap bargains – sign up to bargain hunter Facebook groups like Extreme Couponing and Bargains UK where shoppers regularly post hauls they’ve found on the cheap, including food finds.
“Downshift” – you will almost always save money going for a supermarket’s own-brand economy lines rather than premium brands.
The move to lower-tier ranges, also known as “downshifting” and hailed by consumer expert Martin Lewis, could save you hundreds of pounds a year on your food shop.