Aldi was the cheapest supermarket in November, according to our latest exclusive analysis.
We compared prices for a trolley of 22 items. On average, shoppers would have paid £21.28 at Aldi, which narrowly beat rival discounter Lidl by just 88p.
Meanwhile, one mainstream supermarket was over £10 more expensive than Aldi for the same trolley of groceries. So which was it, and how do the other big grocers compare? Here we compare supermarket prices across all the big names and look at the latest news in the world of food shopping.
Cheapest supermarkets vs the most expensive
Every day throughout November we checked the prices of 22 items, including own-brand products such as apples, eggs and tomatoes, as well as branded goods like Hovis wholemeal bread, to see how UK supermarkets compared. Here’s how much our trolley cost on average:
Aldi came out cheapest overall at just £21.28, while Asda was the cheapest ‘big four’ supermarket, with our trolley rolling in at £23.94. At the other end of the scale, upmarket Waitrose was over £10 more expensive than Aldi, at £31.56.
Groceries with some of the biggest price differences included a popular branded funsize chocolate snack bag (where there was a £1.41 difference between Aldi and Waitrose) and own-brand grapes, which had a difference of £1.31.
While Aldi doesn’t offer full online grocery shopping, it does offer some items online such as alcohol and special buys. You can shop at Aldi.co.uk.
Of course, price is just one factor when you’re deciding which supermarket to shop at. We also survey shoppers about quality, customer service, store experience, online deliveries and a range of other factors.
- Find out more: Which? members rate the best and worst supermarkets
How do bigger shopping lists stack up?
We also compared a shopping trolley packed with 89 items (the original 22 plus 67 more). This included a greater selection of branded items, such as Branston baked beans and Kleenex tissues, that aren’t always available in the discounter supermarkets – so for our super-sized trolley we haven’t been able to include Aldi or Lidl.
Asda, at £165.42, was by far the cheapest of the traditional supermarkets. It was a staggering £28.01 cheaper than the most expensive supermarket, Waitrose. Grocery prices at Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Tesco were similar, with just over £6 separating the three supermarkets.
We can’t compare exactly the same items each month because products aren’t always available at every retailer, but Asda was also the cheapest major online supermarket when we checked in October. You can shop at Asda.com.
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How Which? compares supermarket prices
We tracked the prices of 22 items at the UK’s six biggest supermarkets throughout November.
For our larger trolley analysis we added a further 67 items for all supermarkets apart from Aldi and Lidl, where the products were unavailable. Our shopping list combined branded items, such as Kenco Millicano coffee, Oxo stock cubes and Twinings English breakfast tea, with own-label products including onions, tomatoes and milk.
Of course, own-brand items aren’t exactly the same at different supermarkets, but we’ve used experts to ensure that the products are as comparable as possible, based on a range of factors including weight, quality and other industry data.
Using an independent price comparison website, we calculated the average price (including special offers but not multibuys) for each item throughout the month. We added those individual averages together to give an overall price for the trolley at each shop for the month.
- Find out more: supermarket price comparison over time
Christmas delivery slots selling out fast
Christmas will look a little different in the supermarkets this year.
The festive period is usually one of the busiest stretches on the shopping calendar, with families stocking up on ingredients for festive feasts. This year, supermarkets have vastly increased their online order capacity already, which could put them in a good position for the December rush, although demand for delivery slots is still looking tight.
Some supermarkets have announced extended hours in the run-up to Christmas, while others are reportedly lobbying the government to extend Sunday trading hours.
- Find out more: nine things you didn’t know about online grocery shopping
source https://www.which.co.uk/news/2020/12/which-was-the-cheapest-supermarket-in-november-2020/