Warning to shoppers ‘loyal’ to Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s or Morrisons over Aldi and Lidl

Supermarket shoppers who stay ‘loyal’ to Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda or Morrisons over Aldi and Lidl have been warned it’s costing them money.

Consumer magazine Which? has revealed its supermarket price comparison analysis for June 2024 and for the first time has included the impact of loyalty cards including Tesco Clubcards and the Sainsbury’s Nectar Card on the price of a typical food shop.

Despite the Tesco Clubcard reducing the total cost of a basket at Tesco - as did the Nectar card at Sainsbury’s - Aldi and Lidl both still came out cheaper.

As such, shoppers prioritising loyalty cards will be paying more than those who simply switch to Aldi or Lidl, based on the figures.

Aldi beat Tesco including Clubcard prices by more than £12, and Sainsbury’s by more than £14.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Waitrose was the most expensive supermarket by some distance, at a full £32.60 more expensive than Aldi, which was the cheapest.

Aldi was the cheapest supermarket in June. The discounter offered the cheapest price for a shopping list of popular items. 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.

June’s list of 65 items included a number of both branded and own-brand items, such as Birds Eye Garden Peas, Heinz baked beans, Hovis bread, milk and butter.

The cheapest supermarket for a shopping list of items in June was Aldi, where the groceries cost £118.41 on average across the month. Fellow discounter Lidl was just behind Aldi, costing £2.90 more (£121.31 on average).

Waitrose was the most expensive supermarket last month, totalling £151.01 - a difference of £32.60 compared to Aldi - 28 per cent more.

For those using a Tesco Clubcard, June’s shopping list of items cost £130.90 - a difference of £12.49 compared to Aldi. Meanwhile, for those without a Clubcard, the same items at Tesco cost £134.30.

Sainsbury’s Nectar scheme members would have paid more - £132.90 - while without a Nectar card, the Sainsbury’s shop cost £137.51. Meanwhile the total at Asda was £131.42.

While Lidl, Morrisons and Waitrose do also operate two-tier pricing, their schemes are currently on a smaller scale and this month, no items on the list were available at a lower price to members of these schemes.

Ele Clark, Which? Retail Editor, said: “From this month on we will be regularly including loyalty prices in our analysis. As member-only pricing continues to grow, Which? believes the sector needs to be properly scrutinised and held to account so that all shoppers - including society’s most vulnerable - can benefit, and no one is misled into believing they’re getting a better deal than they really are.

“With food prices continuing to squeeze household budgets, it comes as no surprise that many people are choosing to shop with the discounters, and Aldi has again won the cheapest supermarket title. Our analysis shows that Aldi and Lidl are still cheaper than the traditional supermarkets, even when you include loyalty pricing.”