Lidl has beaten Aldi to the title of cheapest supermarket of the month, knocking it from the top spot which it held for nearly two years.
Consumer group Which? said that Lidl was the cheapest supermarket for a shopping list of 79 items.
However, it has now been usurped by its German rival Lidl, where the shopping bill came to £128.40 on average across the month.
Members of the Lidl Plus loyalty scheme could also save a further 40p on the price of the groceries.
The price of the same shop at Aldi was 85p more expensive than its fellow discount supermarket.
In a longer list of 192 items, Asda remained cheaper than Tesco – even with a Clubcard.
The longer list at Asda cost £474.12, cheaper than Tesco with a Clubcard by £7.47 (£481.59).
The study of bigger shops does not include Aldi or Lidl because they do not always stock some of the products on the consumer group’s larger shopping list.
Waitrose was the most expensive on average, with the bigger shop costing £538.33 – a difference of £64.21 compared to Asda – 14 per cent more.
| Supermarket | Average price |
|---|---|
| Asda | £474.12 |
| Tesco (inc loyalty discount) | £481.59 |
| Sainsbury’s (inc loyalty discount) | £490.64 |
| Morrisons (inc loyalty discount) | £491.87 |
| Morrisons | £502.24 |
| Tesco | £513.79 |
| Ocado | £521.72 |
| Sainsbury’s | £525.98 |
| Waitrose | £538.33 |
Waitrose was also the most expensive supermarket for a smaller list of items this month, totalling £170.91 on average.
Which means shoppers would be spending £42.51 more on the same shop at Watrose than shopping at Lidl with a loyalty card, a 34 per cent increase.
The list of 76 items included both branded and own-brand items, such as Birds Eye Peas, Hovis bread, milk and butter.
The analysis includes special offer prices and loyalty prices where applicable, but not multibuys.
For the smaller shop, Tesco Clubcard members would have paid £141.92 on average which is £13.92 more than at Lidl with a loyalty card.
However for shoppers without a Clubcard, the Tesco shop cost £145.10.
For those using a Sainsbury’s Nectar card, July’s shopping list of items averaged £144.21, which is £16.21 more than at Lidl with a loyalty card.
| Supermarket | Average price |
|---|---|
| Lidl (inc loyalty discount) | £128 |
| Lidl | £128.40 |
| Aldi | £129.25 |
| Asda | £139.53 |
| Tesco (inc loyalty discount) | £141.92 |
| Sainsbury’s (inc loyalty discount) | £144.21 |
| Tesco | £145.10 |
| Morrisons (inc loyalty discount) | £146.91 |
| Morrisons | £147.84 |
| Sainsbury’s | £149.55 |
| Ocado | £159.20 |
| Waitrose | £170.91 |
Without a Nectar card, the same items at Sainsbury’s cost £149.55.
The list, by Which? includes special offers and loyalty discounts but not multibuys.
The main list of around 200 items remains unchanged each month and is not revealed to the supermarkets involved.
Reena Sewraz, Which? Retail Editor, said: ‘Lidl has bagged the top spot as the UK’s cheapest supermarket for the first time in 20 months, according to our latest price analysis, showing that it can beat Aldi even without loyalty prices.
‘The bigger trolley of groceries shows that Asda continues to be the cheapest non-discounter supermarket – beating membership prices at Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons.
‘Households are still contending with high food prices but our analysis shows it pays to shop around, simply choosing one supermarket over another could save you 25 per cent.’
