Aldi has been crowned the cheapest supermarket of 2021 amid rising grocery prices across the industry, reclaiming the title from rival chain Lidl.
Grocery prices rose across all of the major supermarkets last year, with customers of one chain seeing an increase of 9% compared with 2020.
Aldi narrowly beat out Lidl to claim the top spot, with the former being the cheapest supermarket in the UK for six out of the last 12 months, whilst the latter was only the cheapest for five according to an annual survey from consumer watchdog Which?.
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As reported by HullLive, for the one remaining month the two budget giants were tied — with a basket containing 19 items being priced at £18.45 at both chains.
Which? also found that grocery prices rose by an average of 3.4% for a trolley containing 19 items across all stores compared to 2020.
Waitrose prices rose by the most — 9.2% – whilst Sainsbury's customer saw the smallest increase of 0.59%.
Certain own-brand items saw a surge in price across all of the eight biggest UK supermarkets, such as Royal Gala apples (up 14%), free-range eggs (up 12%), brown onions (up 11%), skimmed milk (up 10%) and semi-skimmed milk (up 9%).
Lidl, which was previously crowned the cheapest supermarket in 2020, offered customers the lowest prices in December, at £23.29 for a basket of 22 groceries compared with £23.64 at Aldi.
The price of a Waitrose basket, meanwhile, was £9 — or 41% — more expensive, being priced at £32.85.
The John Lewis-owned supermarket was the priciest chain throughout the year, with a basket of everyday products costing from £6 to upwards of £10 more than the cheapest alternative.
The shopping list combined branded items such as Kenco coffee, Oxo stock cubes and PG Tips tea bags with own-label products including onions and milk, selected to ensure they were as comparable as possible across the retailers on factors such as weight and quality.
Which? also compared a larger trolley containing a greater selection of items not always available at Aldi and Lidl, such as Cathedral City cheddar cheese and Kenco coffee, finding that Asda was the cheapest of the traditional supermarkets at £135.07 – £18.30 cheaper than the most expensive, Waitrose.
Waitrose was also the most expensive for the larger trolley every month except one in 2021.
Which? retail editor Ele Clark said: “No one wants to overpay for basic groceries, especially when a cost-of-living crunch is putting extra pressure on household budgets.
“Our findings show that while prices are going up, some supermarkets are passing their rising costs on to shoppers more than others.
"As well as choosing a supermarket that is cheap overall, other ways to save include swapping from branded to own-brand products, sticking to a shopping list and resisting the temptation to pick up special offers you don’t need.”
Julie Ashfield, Managing Director of Buying at Aldi, said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to be named the Cheapest Supermarket of the Year. We are committed to ensuring that our customers have access to the highest quality products at the best possible prices.
"This is a commitment to our customers that is set in stone and we’re proud that it has been recognised by Which?, supporting shoppers at a time when the cost of living is rising.”
A Waitrose spokesman said: “We’re working hard to deliver great value, offering ethically sourced, great-quality products at fair prices along with excellent service from our partners.”
