Aldi named UK’s cheapest supermarket for January, says Which?

Aldi has been named the UK’s cheapest supermarket for January, narrowly beating rival Lidl, according to the latest price comparison by Which?.

The consumer watchdog’s monthly analysis compares the average cost of a basket of 100 popular groceries across eight major UK supermarkets.

In January, Aldi’s basket was the most affordable at £185.83.

Lidl followed closely behind, with its prices just 76p higher for customers using the Lidl Plus loyalty scheme and 79p higher without it (£186.59/£186.62).

For a larger shop of 210 items, which excludes Aldi and Lidl due to their smaller product ranges, Asda was the cheapest option.

The supermarket’s total came to £518.90, beating Tesco’s Clubcard prices by £10.11 (£529.01).

This marks a return to the top spot for Asda, just days after it scrapped its Aldi and Lidl price match scheme in favour of its Rollback pricing strategy, which has reduced the cost of more than 4,000 products by an average of 25%.

At the other end of the price scale, Waitrose was found to be the most expensive supermarket. The larger shop cost £592.34 on average, while the smaller 100-item basket came to £242.91—31% more than Aldi’s total.

Tesco and Sainsbury’s remained in the middle of the rankings, with their loyalty schemes offering some savings.

Tesco Clubcard members would have paid £207.66 on average for the 100-item shop, while non-members faced a bill of £213.14. At Sainsbury’s, the same shop cost £214.04 for Nectar card holders and £223.84 without the discount.

Reena Sewraz, Which? Retail Editor, said:

“Our latest monthly analysis once again sees Aldi crowned as the UK’s cheapest supermarket, however, Lidl remains hot on its rival’s heels. Asda has also made up some ground after slipping back in our rankings in recent months.

“With people still feeling the effects of food inflation, they are likely looking to cut costs where they can. Our analysis shows that by switching supermarkets consumers could save up to 23%, highlighting the advantages of shopping around where possible.”

Which?’s research includes branded and own-brand items such as Hovis bread, milk, butter, and Birds Eye peas.

Prices reflect special offers and loyalty discounts but exclude multibuy promotions

. The consumer group says it aims to encourage retailers to offer consistently low prices rather than short-term competitive discounts on select items.