Calling itself a “consumer champion”, the brand Which? regularly performs comparison shops in the UK to give customers the lowdown on pricing and value. One of its regular targets is supermarkets. Over the past couple of years, the winners have been clear: They’ve been Aldi and Lidl in a runaway.
That hasn’t stopped other chains from putting out messaging that underscores their commitment to try to save shoppers money. There have been reams of price-matching pitches, points increase offers and other discounts. In fact, Which? recently published a comprehensive list of what the other chains are doing to help consumers struggling with the economy and inflation … while at the same time trying to stave off the discounters.
It is long. Yet none of them individually or even collectively can change one dynamic. Shopping at Aldi and Lidl is still appreciably cheaper than doing so at Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose.
For the ninth consecutive month, Aldi was named least expensive shop of all UK supermarkets. Lidl was second again. The difference between Aldi and the rest of the big chains is not pence but pounds, and Aldi was more than £20 cheaper in February than Waitrose and nearly £10 cheaper than Tesco. Aldi’s basket of goods came in £74.81 while Lidl’s was at £77.50. Shoppers who frequently use Ocado or Morrisons are paying north of £89 effectively for the same groceries.
Despite all of the efforts, none of the others can come close to Aldi, which scored another impressive, if nonchalant victory.
“As the cost-of-living crisis continues, we remain committed to keeping prices low and quality high,” Julie Ashfield, Managing Director of Buying at Aldi, said in a statement that has almost become routine. “The latest findings from Which? show that once again customers can save money by choosing to shop with us. We’re thrilled to have been consistently named cheapest supermarket for the last nine months.”
Sainsbury’s basket was the closest to the two discounters, registering at £85.25. Asda came in at £85.81.
