Sainsbury’s recent focus on improving its competitiveness appears to be paying off with a study suggesting it offered the cheapest prices for branded grocery products amongst six of the major supermarkets throughout 2019. However, the list of retailers in the comparison did not include Aldi or Lidl.
Consumer watchdog Which? said it tracked thousands of branded grocery prices via the online stores of Asda, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose. It then compiled a list of 53 commonly bought grocery items, from Andrex toilet tissue to Weetabix cereal, and found that the goods cost £107.01 a month at Sainsbury’s on average across the year.
Asda came in as the second cheapest, with an average monthly cost of £107.65 for the items on Which?’s shopping list. Last year’s winner Morrisons followed closely behind in third place, charging £109.13. Despite its larger buying power, Tesco was fourth on £112.40.
In contrast, the same items would have cost £117.81 a month at Waitrose – nearly 10% more than at Sainsbury’s. Ocado was slightly cheaper than Waitrose at £116.40.
Which? acknowledged Aldi and Lidl’s growing share of the UK grocery market but said it could not include them in its study as neither offered an online shopping platform for the branded items included.
Natalie Hitchins, Which? Head of Home Products and Services, said: “Our analysis shows how important it can be to shop around to ensure you get the best price for your groceries.”
NAM Implication:
- Opportunity for Aldi and Lidl to do a ‘special’ listing of the 53 items?
