Money Matters: The Big Shop

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In this week's Money Matters column, Wrekin's Debt & Energy Manager Dan Bebbington explains why shopping around is an important way to save money.

Doing the big shop can be a daunting experience at the best of times, especially during the cost of living crisis.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics show the price of food and non-alcoholic drinks shot up by 16.4 per cent in the 12 months to October 2022.

That’s why it’s important to choose where you shop carefully as it could save you a significant amount of money.

According to the latest monthly analysis from consumer advocacy group Which?, Aldi has once again been named the cheapest supermarket for a basket of popular groceries in March.

However, the gap between Aldi and its rival Lidl has narrowed, with Aldi's basket costing only 25p less than Lidl's.

Which? checked the prices of 41 popular groceries every day in March, including milk and tea bags, to see how some of the UK’s biggest supermarkets compare.

Aldi was the cheapest supermarket overall, where the shopping basket came to just £72.54 on average, followed closely by Lidl.

Waitrose, on the other hand, was the most expensive at £92.55, making it £20.01 more expensive than Aldi.

Out of the so-called "big four" supermarkets, Sainsbury's was the cheapest at £80.27.

In a wider analysis, Which? compared the prices of 137 items across six traditional supermarkets, with Aldi and Lidl excluded due to the inclusion of branded products.

It found that Asda is the cheapest option for a large trolley of groceries, offering savings of £41.83 compared to Waitrose.

These results show that you can save a considerable amount of money on your groceries, depending on where you choose to shop.

Remember, it pays to shop around and compare prices before you buy your groceries and will help your budget to stretch further.

11th April 2023