A shopper who has been comparing the prices of identical basic items at supermarkets week on week says Morrison's took an unfortunate crown in the latest battle of the bills - coming out more expensive than Sainsbury's. Emma Gill of the MEN has been buying the same items at different shops to give a week-on-week analysis of how prices are changing.
She has been buying the same eight items at Tesco, Asda, Aldi, Lidl, Sainsbury's and Morrisons - a two-pint bottle of milk, a loaf of bread, coffee, teabags, butter, beans, chicken breasts and mince. Last week MEN found that Lidl was the cheapest for all eight products, coming in at £9.82.
Emma said: "Despite it putting up the price of milk and butter this week, it has still kept its bill lower than any of the other stores, at £9.91. The biggest shock however is Morrisons, which just three weeks ago was wearing the cheapest crown itself, with a bill of £9.78 for the shopping basket.
"Now it's coming in at £10.91 and working out as the most expensive of all - taking the unfortunate spot from Sainsbury's for the first time. Three separate increases have put it there this week - its cheapest loaf of bread rising from 39p to 54p, chicken up to £2.49 for a 300g pack of two breasts and mince rising from £1.89 to £2.19.
"Those meat prices are higher than any of the other supermarkets and the mince is 50p more expensive than the cheapest, which is Asda's new Just Essentials pack for £1.69. It's not just Morrisons putting prices up though.
"Lidl, Tesco and Sainsbury's have joined the others in putting the cost of 2 pints of milk up to £1.05 from 99p, the latter two also increasing the cost of their chicken. And Lidl has increased the cost of its butter from £1.69 to £1.72, albeit still selling it cheaper than elsewhere."
A number of organisations run price comparisons week on week. The Grocer, for example, has been comparing prices at supermarkets for 20 years. In its latest chart a basket of food at Morrisons was £51.74 while the same basket at Sainsbury's was £52.82.
The Grocer figures saw the Tesco bill at £52.21, Asda at £51.69, Waitrose at £66.05, Aldi at £45.88 and Lidl coming in cheapest at £45.64.
Which? uses a basket of 18 items to compare - and puts Sainsbury's at £27.32 while Morrisons came in at £27.06. Lidl was cheapest at £23.55.
Here's the shopping list and total for each supermarket in the MEN test (as o f Friday, June 17)
Lidl
Loaf of white bread 800g - 36p
Milk 2 pints - £1.05 (up from 99p)
Coffee 200g - £1.69
Teabags 160 - £99p
Salted butter 250g - £1.72 (up from £1.69)
Beans 420g tin - 22p
Chicken 300g - £1.99
Mince 500g 20% fat - £1.89
Total £9.91 (up from £9.82)
Asda
Loaf of white bread 800g (Smart Price) - 39p
Milk 2 pints - £1.05
Coffee 200g (2 x 100g Just Essentials) - £1.50
Teabags 160 (4 x 40-pack Smart Price) - £1.12
Salted butter 250g - £1.75
Beans 410g tin (Smart Price) - 25p
Chicken (bigger 350g pack for £2.65) - equates to £2.27
Mince 500g 20% fat - £1.69
Total £10.02
Aldi
Loaf of white bread 800g - 36p
Milk 2 pints - £1.05
Coffee 200g - £1.69
Teabags 160 - £1.09
Salted butter 250g - £1.75
Beans 420g tin - 22p
Chicken 300g - £1.99
Mince 500g 20% fat - £1.89
Total £10.04
Tesco
Loaf of white bread 800g - 36p
Milk 2 pints - £1.05 (up from 99p)
Coffee 200g (2 x 100g) - £1.70
Teabags 160 (2 x 80-pack) - £1.10
Salted butter 250g - £1.75
Beans 420g tin - 22p
Chicken 300g - £2.25 (up from £2.20)
Mince 500g 20% fat - £1.89
Total £10.32 (up from £10.21)
Sainsbury's
Loaf of white bread 800g - 36p
Milk 2 pints - £1.05 (up from 99p)
Coffee 200g £2 (up from £1.69)
Teabags 160 - £1.09
Salted butter 250g - £1.75 (down from £1.90)
Beans 400g tin - 21p
Chicken 300g - £2.40 (up from £2.30)
Mince 500g 20% fat - £1.89 (down from £2.10)
Total £10.75 (up from £10.64)
Morrisons
Loaf of white bread 800g - 54p (up from 39p)
Milk 2 pints - £1.05
Coffee (2 x 100g) - £1.50
Teabags 160 (2 x 80-pack Savers) - £1.18
Salted butter 250g - £1.75
Beans 410g tin - 21p
Chicken 300g - £2.49 (up from £2.05)
Mince 500g 20% fat - £2.19 (up from £1.89)
Total £10.91 (up from £10.02)
