THE cheapest supermarket for a basket of 89 essentials has been revealed as a price war heats up between Tesco and Asda.
Consumer champion Which? compared the price of a shopping list of 89 items in February.
Aldi was crowned the cheapest, with the shop coming in at £161.56 on average across the month.
Lidl was just £1.19 more expensive than its fellow discounter this month, with its list costing £162.75.
Meanwhile, Asda was third for the smaller shop (£181.06), beating Tesco with a Clubcard (£181.58) by 52p.
Moving on to a larger 225 item shop and Tesco was crowned the cheapest but only for shoppers signed up to its loyalty scheme for the second month running.
The longer list at Tesco cost £580.35 for shoppers with a Clubcard, making it cheaper than Asda by £3.97 (£584.32).
It is worth noting however that while Asda’s prices are available to all shoppers, a Tesco shopper without a free Clubcard would pay £629.25.
Aldi and Lidl are not included in this comparison as they have a smaller range of products compared to the other supermarkets.
Waitrose was the most expensive on average, with the bigger shop costing £650.11; the same shop at Sainsbury’s would cost £643.23 or £596.93 with a Nectar.
It comes as grocery price inflation was 4.3% last month, according to market research firm Worldpanel by Numerator.
Reena Sewraz, Which? retail editor, said: “Tesco’s Clubcard offers solid value for lovers of branded products, but these savings should be more widely accessible and we look forward to Tesco widening access later this year.
“With budgets still under immense pressure, our analysis shows that being picky about where you shop can put hundreds of pounds back in your pocket over the year.”
How to save money on your food shop
Consumer reporter Sam Walker reveals how you can save hundreds of pounds a year:
Odd boxes – plenty of retailers offer slightly misshapen fruit and veg or surplus food at a discounted price.
Lidl sells five kilos of fruit and veg for just £1.50 through its Waste Not scheme while Aldi shoppers can get Too Good to Go bags which contain £10 worth of all kinds of products for £3.30.
Sainsbury’s also sells £2 “Taste Me, Don’t Waste Me” fruit and veg boxes to help shoppers reduced food waste and save cash.
Food waste apps – food waste apps work by helping shops, cafes, restaurants and other businesses shift stock that is due to go out of date and passing it on to members of the public.
Some of the most notable ones include Too Good to Go and Olio.
Too Good to Go’s app is free to sign up to and is used by millions of people across the UK, letting users buy food at a discount.
Olio works similarly, except users can collect both food and other household items for free from neighbours and businesses.
Yellow sticker bargains – yellow sticker bargains, sometimes orange and red in certain supermarkets, are a great way of getting food on the cheap.
But what time to head out to get the best deals varies depending on the retailer. You can see the best times for each supermarket here.
Super cheap bargains – sign up to bargain hunter Facebook groups like Extreme Couponing and Bargains UK where shoppers regularly post hauls they’ve found on the cheap, including food finds.
“Downshift” – you will almost always save money going for a supermarket’s own-brand economy lines rather than premium brands.
The move to lower-tier ranges, also known as “downshifting” and hailed by consumer expert Martin Lewis, could save you hundreds of pounds a year on your food shop.
