Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
National
Emma Munbodh & Rachel Pugh

UK's cheapest supermarket has changed - and it's not Asda or Tesco

Earlier this year, retail giant Aldi lost its crown as the only cheapest supermarket in the UK, as one of it's biggest competitors, Lidl, took the joint top spot.

Now Aldi has regained its crown as the only supermarket on the top spot, beating the likes of Asda, Tesco, Morrisons and Sainsbury's.

The own-brand retailer emerged as the top in-store supermarket, after receiving a five-star rating for value for money and a 73% overall score for satisfaction, in an annual Which? report.

Customers were asked to rate their shopping experience in a range of categories such as in-store appearance and layout, quality of produce, availability of online delivery slots and value for money.

While Aldi received mediocre ratings across all other categories, including two stars for store layout and three stars for the quality of its own-label products and fresh food, price was the most important consideration for customers when choosing where to shop.

Elsewhere, Ocado fell to joint-fifth place alongside Waitrose and Morrisons.

UK's cheapest supermarket revealed

It struggled to meet demand when the pandemic hit and was ultimately forced to close its website and app - the latter for several months. It received just two-star ratings for the availability of delivery slots.

It also received two stars for value for money, reflecting its regular appearance as the second-most expensive supermarket after Waitrose in the monthly analysis.

Sainsbury's was the highest-scoring online supermarket with an overall customer score of 71% and a four-star rating for the availability of delivery slots, reports the Mirror.

M&S came second in the in-store supermarkets table after receiving a five-star rating for the appearance and layout of its stores and the quality of its own-label and fresh products.

In joint-third place were Lidl, Tesco and Waitrose. Much like its rival Aldi, Lidl performed well when it came to value for money, achieving four-star ratings, but it failed to impress customers in other categories.

Despite receiving five stars for store layout and food quality, Waitrose was let down by its two-star rating for value for money.

Co-op finished bottom of the in-store shopping table as it failed to impress customers in key categories. It received just one-star for value for money and two-stars for its store layout and food quality.

Harry Rose, at Which said: "Many households have felt the pinch during the pandemic and value for money was the most important factor when shopping in-store in our annual supermarket survey, which explains why Aldi came out on top.

"Online supermarkets have also been a lifeline for many people during the pandemic and while Sainsbury's rose to the challenge by massively increasing its delivery capacity, Ocado's reputation took a hit after the scale of demand meant it stopped accepting new customers and shut down its app at the height of lockdown."

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.