The newest statistics show that a new supermarket has been crowned the cheapest in the UK as food prices continue to rise.
For the first time in almost two years, Lidl has surpassed Aldi to become the UK's cheapest supermarket.
Analysis of prices by consumer segment Which? examined 76 supermarket items on average throughout July, including both own-brand and well-known brands. Lidl beat its bargain competitor by less than £1 overall.
Aldi came up at £129.25, while Lidl's total cost was £128 with the loyalty card and £128.40 without.
The rest of the list includes Asda as the third cheapest, then Tesco for Clubcard users, Sainsbury’s for Nectar card users, Tesco (without Clubcard) followed by Morrisons for More card users.
Notably, each of those stores ended up being about £17 less expensive than Tesco (without Clubcard) and £40 less expensive than Waitrose, which was the most costly at £170.91 total.
When using a loyalty card, a Tesco basket cost less than a Sainsbury's basket. With a price drop of less than £1 in this case, Morrisons was unable to outperform any other competitors, loyalty card or not.
The new rankings are released at a time when consumers are once again facing escalating food costs. Price increases for fresh meat, chocolate, and spreads drove annual grocery inflation to 5.2 per cent in July, the highest level since January.
The UK’s cheapest supermarket
Average price for 76 items
Lidl (with Plus) £128.00
Lidl £128.40
Aldi £129.25
Asda £139.53
Tesco (with Clubcard) £141.92
Sainsbury's (with Nectar) £144.21
Tesco £145.10
Morrisons (with More) £146.91
Morrisons £147.84
Sainsbury's £149.55
Ocado £159.20
Waitrose £170.91
But for a larger shop of 192 items, including more branded products, Asda took the crown for the seventh consecutive month at an average price of £474.12, with Waitrose 14 per cent higher at £538.33. Since Lidl and Aldi didn't carry enough of the branded products, they were left out of this comparison.
One of the most obvious developments in supermarket pricing is the growing influence of loyalty programs on the final price you pay. The cost of several supermarkets increases dramatically if you don't have a loyalty card. For instance, Tesco's prices increased by £32.20 when no Clubcard discounts were applied.
On average, Tesco Clubcard holders saved 6.3 per cent at the larger shop and 2.2 per cent at the smaller one.The savings for Sainsbury's Nectar customers were even greater: 3.6 per ent for the small shop and 6.7 per cent for the large one.
Morrisons More customers received small reductions of 0.6 per cent and 2.1 per cent, respectively, while Lidl Plus only saw a 0.3 per cent reduction, which was sufficient to overtake Aldi.
