Lidl has claimed the crown as the cheapest supermarket in the UK after narrowly beating Aldi for the first time since October 2023 in a price comparison by consumer watchdog Which?.
In an analysis of 76 popular branded and own-label groceries during July, Lidl’s basket of goods cost £128 with its loyalty scheme and £128.40 without. This compares to Aldi’s £129.25 and third-placed Asda, which was 9% more than Lidl at £139.53
Meanwhile, shopping at Tesco without a loyalty card (£145.10) was still cheaper than shopping at Morrisons with one (£146.91).
| Supermarket | Average price for 76 items |
| Lidl Plus | £128 |
| Lidl | £128.40 |
| Aldi | £129.25 |
| Asda | £139.53 |
| Tesco (with Clubcard) | £141.92 |
| Sainsbury’s (with Nectar) | £144.21 |
| Tesco | £145.10 |
| Morrisons (with More card) | £146.91 |
| Morrisons | £147.84 |
| Sainsbury’s | £149.55 |
| Ocado | £159.20 |
| Waitrose | £170.91 |
Source: Which?
When expanding the basket to a broader list of 192 branded items, Asda emerged as the cheapest for the seventh consecutive month, followed by Tesco, Sainsbury’s, and Morrisons. Lidl and Aldi were excluded from this comparison as they do not stock all items.
| Supermarket | Average price for 192 items |
| Asda | £474.12 |
| Tesco (with Clubcard) | £481.59 |
| Sainsbury’s (with Nectar) | £490.64 |
| Morrisons (with More Card) | £491.87 |
| Morrisons | £502.24 |
| Tesco | £513.79 |
| Ocado | £521.72 |
| Sainsbury’s | £525.98 |
| Waitrose | £538.33 |
Source: Which?
Which? highlighted that loyalty cards can deliver meaningful discounts – 2.1% at Morrisons, 6.3% at Tesco, and 6.7% at Sainsbury’s. However, it noted that millions of shoppers still face barriers to accessing these savings due to age restrictions, lack of digital access, or address requirements.
Last year, the CMA confirmed it found no widespread evidence that supermarkets mislead shoppers with loyalty pricing.
NAM Implications:
- As can be seen, there are pennies in it…
- But more of an impact when it comes to £s difference vs mults.
- But perception counts more.
- So traffic will change direction and destination to suit…
- Is it time to move to even more price-fighting?
