Comparison site Which? named Aldi the cheapest UK supermarket for weekly shops for the third consecutive year.
Aldi managing director of buying Julie Ashfield commented on the results for 2024 saying: “We’re absolutely delighted to be named the Cheapest Supermarket of the Year for a third year running.
“We are committed to providing shoppers with the best quality products at the lowest prices and it’s great to have that officially recognised by a highly respected consumer champion, such as Which?.
“As we head into 2024, our promise to our customers remains the same – they will always get the UK’s lowest prices at Aldi.”
But how does Aldi compare to other supermarkets? The team at Wethrift analysed 30 low-cost online grocery items and calculated the total basket cost for each UK supermarket.
The food experts looked at the price of some common weekly products such as four pints of semi-skimmed milk, two chicken breasts or 500g of beef mince, and calculated the total basket cost for each supermarket.
As expected, Aldi came out as the cheapest retailer with a weekly shop costing £33.25, closely followed by Tesco, £33.47, Sainsbury’s, £33.59, and Asda, £33.65.
The average weekly shop at Morrisons was around £37.11, while Ocado was significantly more expensive, a £46.74.
Nick Drewe, from the online discount platform Wethrift, commented on the results saying: “The fact that – for the third year in a row – Aldi has come out on top as the cheapest UK supermarket for weekly shops is unlikely to come as a surprise to many.
“As shoppers navigate through the ongoing cost of living crisis, the impact that rising inflation is having on the prices of everyday supermarket essentials has been impossible to ignore, and the deals promoted by Aldi are clearly tempting others away from other retailers, perhaps perceived as traditionally ‘more expensive’.
“Having said that, as we can see from our weekly price comparison of 30 low-cost groceries being sold by Aldi and five other popular supermarkets, the savings at Aldi (£33.25) are minimal when compared to what consumers can get for their money at the likes of Tesco (£33.47) and Sainsburys (£33.59).
“With many competing supermarkets doing what they can to keep customers returning, the prices of items have started to vary significantly based on special offers and deals. So finding the so-called ‘cheapest’ supermarket may require shoppers to undertake some research ahead of time, based on one’s own specific needs and dietary requirements.”
Which? analysts explained that Aldi has been named the most affordable supermarket based on data collected in 2023. The retailer was the “cheapest supermarket” for 11 months last year.
Lidl was “the second-cheapest supermarket for the same 11 months, but narrowly beat Aldi to the top spot in October”.
Waitrose, on the other hand, was found to be the most expensive supermarket every single month of 2023.
