Lidl ends Aldi’s 16-month run as cheapest supermarket, Which? reveals

Lidl has been named the UK’s cheapest supermarket for a basket of groceries in October 2023, ending a 16-month run for its discounter rival Aldi, Which? research has found.

For a larger trolley of items, Asda remained the cheapest retailer last month and Waitrose was the most expensive.

The consumer champion’s monthly analysis involves comparing the average prices of a shop consisting of popular groceries at eight of the UK’s biggest supermarkets. Experts also look at a larger trolley of groceries at six supermarkets, as the discounters do not always stock big-brand products.

The cheapest supermarket for a smaller basket of goods this month was Lidl, where a basket of goods cost £74.58 on average across the month.

Fellow discounter Aldi was just behind Lidl, with a difference of just 17p (£74.75 on average).

Waitrose was the most expensive this month, with a basket of groceries totalling £91.15 on average, which is 22 per cent more than Lidl – a difference of £16.57.

Which? also compared the cost of a larger trolley of 135 items – the original 44, plus 91 more. This included a larger number of branded items, such as Andrex toilet paper and Cathedral City cheese, and did not include discounter supermarkets Aldi and Lidl, as they do not always stock some of these products.

This month, Asda was the cheapest for this larger trolley of groceries. In October 2023, it cost £328.42 on average for this shop, beating the next cheapest, Morrisons (£339.40), by £10.98.

This month, Waitrose was the most expensive supermarket for the larger trolley of items, coming in at £378.08 – £49.66 more expensive than Asda. Sainsbury’s was second most expensive at £364.61 for those shopping without a Nectar card.

The analysis includes special offer prices but not multi-buys or loyalty discounts. Loyalty discounts are only available to people prepared to sign up to loyalty schemes. As not every consumer is able to do so Which? considers it fairer only to include prices that are available to all.

This latest pricing analysis from Which? demonstrates that shoppers can make considerable savings on their groceries depending on where they buy their food.

Which? has found that while some good practice exists, many of the major supermarkets have not done enough to support their customers during the cost of living crisis.

Supermarkets could be doing more by ensuring smaller convenience stores stock a range of essential budget lines that support a healthy diet, especially in areas where they are most needed.

Supermarkets also need to ensure unit pricing is clear so that customers can easily work out the best value products, including providing unit pricing on loyalty card prices. It is positive that the government has committed to improving pricing legislation.

Given the urgency of this cost of living crisis, Which? is calling on the government to act now and work with supermarkets to secure these changes that could make a real difference to millions of people struggling to put food on the table.

Ele Clark, Which? Retail Editor, said:

“As millions continue to struggle with increased food prices and other high household bills, it is no surprise that many are turning to discounters for their food shop. Our latest research has found Lidl is the cheapest supermarket for a basket of groceries, narrowly beating Aldi.

“Which? believes that supermarkets can do much more to help shoppers during the current cost of living crisis. They must ensure everyone has easy access to basic, affordable food ranges at a store near them – and this includes providing a decent choice of budget-range, healthy essentials in smaller convenience stores.”

ENDS

Notes to editors: 

Full table of basket results (based on 44 items): 

Full table of trolley results (based on 135 items): 

Background

Which? does not “cherry-pick” the items in its monthly shopping baskets. Each month Which? compares how much supermarkets charge for both a basket of around 40 items, and a larger trolley of around 130 items. Both data sets are taken, based on availability across supermarkets that month, from our wider pool of around 200 groceries. These have been picked using industry data on sales value and availability, making them by definition among the most popular groceries.

Because the main pool of around 200 groceries remains entirely unchanged from month to month, Which? never shares the full list of products with retailers as we want to avoid any attempt to skew the results. We do not want supermarkets to compete with one another to lower prices only on the items they know they will be judged on. Instead we want retailers to work to make groceries affordable across the depth and breadth of their available lines.

We make it clear that the analysis includes special offer prices but not multi-buys or loyalty discounts. Loyalty discounts are only available to people prepared to sign up to loyalty schemes. As not every consumer is able to do so we consider it fairer to only include prices that are available to all.

Useful links: 

• Supermarkets fail to make cheaper food ranges available to most at-risk shoppers

• How to spend less at the supermarket 

• Cheapest supermarket by month 

• Which? Food Inflation Tracker

• Loyalty cards compared

About Which?

Which? is the UK’s consumer champion, here to make life simpler, fairer and safer for everyone. Our research gets to the heart of consumer issues, our advice is impartial, and our rigorous product tests lead to expert recommendations. We’re the independent consumer voice that influences politicians and lawmakers, investigates, holds businesses to account and makes change happen. As an organisation we’re not for profit and all for making consumers more powerful.

The information in this press release is for editorial use by journalists and media outlets only. Any business seeking to reproduce information in this release should contact the Which? Endorsement Scheme team at endorsementscheme@which.co.uk.

Press Release: cheapest supermarket, Food, Lidl