Aldi has been crowned the cheapest supermarket of 2023 by Which? experts.
It was found to be the cheapest of all major UK supermarkets for 11 of the 12 months of 2023, with fellow German discounter Lidl stealing the top spot in October.
Both Aldi and Lidl were the two largest growing supermarkets in the UK last year, increasing their total consumer spend for 2023 by 9.9% and 13.8% respectively, Kantar data revealed.
Market share for the two companies jumped by two percentage points for Aldi and by five percentage points for Lidl.
The findings support the belief that customers are switching to cheaper supermarkets to help save money during the cost-of-living crisis.
However, bucking this trend was Sainsbury’s, which grew its total consumer spend by 9.3% in 2023, despite being found to be one of the more expensive supermarkets.
In September, research found a shopping trolley of essentials from the retailer cost more than Waitrose at over £359, more than £30 more expensive than Asda.
However, the supermarket giant was quick to refute these claims, pointing out that Which? research doesn’t consider its loyalty discounts, which it argued would have saved shoppers up to £400 million over six months.
Without much surprise, Waitrose was found to be the most expensive supermarket for the majority of 2023, but with the retailer positioned as the high-end option, total till roll still grew by 4%.
However, it was mid-range players Asda and Morrisons which suffered the biggest setbacks, both losing market share and being unable to distinguish themselves as value-for-money brands.