Revealed: cheapest supermarkets in March

Cheapest supermarket: Food prices are rising at near-record levels as the cost of living crisis bites. Photo:PA (PA)

At a time when UK households face the biggest cost of living crisis in a generation, shoppers are searching for the cheapest supermarket in order to cut food bills.

Lidl was the cheapest supermarket in March, according to consumer body Which?.

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For a basket of 21 common items, including own-brand products such as apples and eggs as well as branded goods such as Hovis wholemeal bread, Lidl came out cheapest overall, at just £26.83.

Asda was the cheapest big four supermarket, with the same basket costing £28.63. At the other end of the scale, Waitrose was £9.21 pricier than Lidl, at £36.04 – that’s 34% more.

But we consider a trolley packed with 65 items Asda is the cheapest, at £128.60.

This included the first 21 items plus a greater selection of branded items, including Twinings tea bags, that aren’t always available in the discounter supermarkets, and so Aldi or Lidl were excluded from this comparison.

Asda was £20.16 cheaper than the most expensive supermarket, Waitrose. Asda has been the cheapest mainstream (non-discounter) supermarket for 27 months now, having claimed the title every month since January 2020.

Read more: UK consumers could pay 40% more for fruit and vegetables as supply costs bite

Food prices have continued to increase, reaching record-levels following the recent cost of living crisis, with inflation levels reaching 5.5%.

Supermarkets are also adapting their pricing strategies and moving away from selling groceries at ’round pound’ prices such as £1, £2 and £3.

Kantar said grocery inflation in February was 4.3%. Prices are rising the fastest for items including savoury snacks, fresh beef, and cat food. However, the cost of bacon, beer, lager and spirits fell.

Groceries with some of the biggest price differences included own label salmon fillets, which had a difference of £1.52 between Lidl and Waitrose, and own-label seedless grapes, which had a difference of £1.41.

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