UK’s cheapest supermarket for a weekly shop of 62 items revealed – can you save cash?
THE UK's cheapest supermarket for a weekly shop in October has been revealed - and it's not Lidl or Asda.
Which? found German discounter Aldi to be the most affordable out of a list of eight major chains last month.
The UK's consumer champion looked at how the retailers' prices compared on a shopping list of 62 products, to represent doing a weekly shop.
Across the month, the 62 items cost an average of £111.66 at Aldi.
The list of 62 included both branded and non-branded items including Birds Eye Peas, Hovis bread, milk and butter.
Which?'s analysis also included special offer prices and loyalty prices where possible, but not multi-buys such as buy one get one free.
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The consumer champion found Aldi came out cheapest ahead of Lidl, Asda, Tesco and Sainsbury's with the basket costing £102.68.
The consumer champion’s monthly analysis involves comparing the average price of a shop consisting of popular groceries at eight of the UK’s biggest supermarkets.
Fellow discounter Lidl was just behind Aldi in October, costing only 41p more with the supermarket’s loyalty scheme Lidl Plus and 67p more without (£112.07/£112.33 on average).
Waitrose was the most expensive supermarket this month, totalling £142.39 on average - a difference of £30.73 compared to Aldi - 28 per cent more.
Tesco Clubcard members would have paid £122.26 on average - while without a Clubcard, the Tesco shop cost £125.09.
For those using a Sainsbury’s Nectar card, October's shopping list of items averaged £125.93, which is £14.27 more than at Aldi and still higher than the prices at Asda (£125.26) and Tesco (£122.26/£125.09).
Without a Nectar card, the same items at Sainsbury’s cost £130.79.
For a bigger shop consisting of a list of 164 items, Asda was the cheapest at £418.71 and Waitrose was the most expensive, costing £42.39 more (£461.10).
However, Aldi and Lidl are not included in that comparison as they have a smaller range of products compared to the other supermarkets.
This latest pricing analysis from Which? demonstrates that shoppers can make considerable savings on their groceries depending on where they buy their food.
How to save on your supermarket shop
THERE are plenty of ways to save on your grocery shop.
You can look out for yellow or red stickers on products, which show when they've been reduced.
If the food is fresh, you'll have to eat it quickly or freeze it for another time.
Making a list should also save you money, as you'll be less likely to make any rash purchases when you get to the supermarket.
Going own brand can be one easy way to save hundreds of pounds a year on your food bills too.
This means ditching "finest" or "luxury" products and instead going for "own" or value" type of lines.
Plenty of supermarkets run wonky veg and fruit schemes where you can get cheap prices if they're misshapen or imperfect.
For example, Lidl runs its Waste Not scheme, offering boxes of 5kg of fruit and vegetables for just £1.50.
If you're on a low income and a parent, you may be able to get up to £442 a year in Healthy Start vouchers to use at the supermarket too.
Plus, many councils offer supermarket vouchers as part of the Household Support Fund.
Harry Rose, Editor of Which? magazine, said: “Our latest monthly analysis once again sees Aldi crowned as the UK’s cheapest supermarket.
“In the lead up to the festive season, people are looking to cut costs where they can. Our analysis shows that by switching supermarkets consumers could save 22%, highlighting the advantages of shopping around where possible."
It's worth bearing in mind, that the research carried out by Which? was based on prices for 59 products across October only.
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That means they are just a snapshot of what you might pay at different times of the year.
Prices change frequently, sometimes daily, and you will find items on offer in one chain one week and then in another the following week.