Brits looking for the cheapest supermarket during the cost of living crisis have been told they could save £26 on a single shop by going to Aldi, according to consumer watchdog Which.
Discounter Aldi in January came out the cheapest among eight of the UK's largest supermarkets for typical items during a shopping trip.
The consumer champion's analysis, which involves comparing the prices of a shop consisting of 45 popular groceries at eight of the UK's biggest supermarkets, is done on a monthly basis.
The cheapest supermarket was Aldi, where the basket of goods was £82.03 on average while the same shop at Waitrose was £107.71 on average, a difference of £25.68.
Which? also compared the cost of a larger trolley of 144 items.
These items 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, given that they do not always stock some of these products.
Asda was the cheapest for this larger trolley of groceries, continuing its winning streak, which started in January, 2020, as the most economical of the bigger supermarket chains. It cost £363.29 on average for this shop, beating the next cheapest, Sainsbury's (£375.84), by £12.55.
Waitrose was an eye-watering £45.43 more expensive than Asda, coming in at £408.72, on average, for the trolley of comparable goods.
This latest pricing analysis from Which? demonstrates that shoppers can make considerable savings on their grocery budget depending on where they buy their food. But despite more budget ranges and prices at the discounters, Which? believes supermarkets must do more to help their customers.
Which? recently launched its Affordable Food For All campaign, calling on supermarkets to provide the support people around the country desperately need in order to keep food on the table during the ongoing cost of living crisis.
Reena Sewraz, Which? Retail Editor, said: "Nobody wants to pay over the odds for their weekly food shop, especially as the cost of living crisis stretches household budgets for millions of people.
"Our findings show that while prices are going up, some supermarkets are significantly more expensive than others. As well as choosing a supermarket that is cheap overall, other ways to save include swapping from branded to supermarket own-brand products, sticking to a shopping list, and resisting the temptation to pick up special offers you may not need."
