The latest price comparison by consumer watchdog Which? confirms that the loyalty pricing push by the major supermarket multiples has failed to beat Aldi prices for a whole year.
The analysis during June of 79 every day branded and own-label groceries shows Aldi remained the cheapest overall (£131.52) for the twelve month in a row, beating rival discounter Lidl by 35p when Lidl Plus deals are included and by 37p if not.
The next cheapest was Asda (£144.82), which has been pushing to improve its competitiveness with its Rollback campaign. However, its basket of 79 items was still 10% more than Aldi’s.
Meanwhile, the analysis showed that shopping at Tesco without a loyalty card (£149.19) was still cheaper than shopping at Morrisons with one (£152.91)
Sainsbury’s was running Nectar price promotions on 19 items on the Which? list, while Tesco had Clubcard prices on 14. Meanwhile, Morrisons had three More Card discounts on items in the basket of goods, and Lidl had one item on its list with a loyalty discount.
Waitrose also offers some loyalty prices to members, but there were none for items on the Which? shopping list this month.
Julie Ashfield, Chief Commercial Officer at Aldi UK, commented: “Introducing loyalty prices to the Which? research has only reaffirmed our stance that we will not be beaten on price. We are proud to make it an entire year of wins since the loyalty prices were introduced, and vow to keep providing shoppers with the best possible value.”
| Supermarket | Average price for 79 items |
| Aldi | £131.52 |
| Lidl (with Lidl Plus) | £131.87 |
| Lidl (without Lidl Plus) | £131.89 |
| Asda | £144.82 |
| Tesco (with Clubcard) | £146.69 |
| Sainsbury’s (with Nectar) | £148.29 |
| Tesco (without Clubcard) | £149.19 |
| Morrisons (with More Card) | £152.91 |
| Morrisons (without More Card) | £153.37 |
| Sainsbury’s | £153.78 |
| Ocado | £165.51 |
| Waitrose | £178.64 |
Source: Which?
NAM Implications:
- This is all about perception…
- …in that while price differences are in pence, Aldi emerges as a winner on price…
- … especially for consumers prepared to shop around.
- Retailers are responding to varying degrees…
- …with varying degrees of success.
- Key for suppliers to find ways of optimising retailer strengths…
