// Which? crowns Sainsbury’s as UK’s cheapest supermarket of 2019
// Result was based on survey of branded grocery items across 6 major supermarkets: Tesco, Waitrose, Morrisons, Asda, Ocado & Sainsbury’s
// Aldi & Lidl not included as they do not offer an online platform for branded items
Sainsbury’s has been crowned as the UK’s cheapest supermarket of 2019, according to a Which? study.
The consumer group tracked thousands of branded grocery prices across six major supermarkets throughout the year to find out how much each shop was charging.
Which? experts compiled a list of 53 common grocery items for the survey, featuring Andrex toilet tissue to Weetabix breakfast cereal.
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It found that the goods cost £107.01 a month at Sainsbury’s on average in 2019.
By contrast, the same items would have set someone back £117.81 a month at Waitrose – 10 per cent more – potentially costing shoppers an annual total of £129.60 more than if they had shopped for the same items at Sainsbury’s.
Asda was found to be the second cheapest supermarket, with an average monthly cost of £107.65 for the items on Which?’s shopping list.
Morrisons was in third place, charging £109.13.
Which? collected the data by monitoring online pricing, meaning that only shops selling all of the branded items online – Asda, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose – were included in the ranking.
The consumer group ran a similar survey last year, and found that Morrisons was the cheapest supermarket of 2018, followed by Asda and then Sainsbury’s.
Neither Aldi nor Lidl offer an online shopping platform for the branded items included in the Which? study.
“Your weekly supermarket shop can have a significant impact on your wallet, and the start of a new year is a good time to look at your household spending to see if there are areas where you can save money,” Which? head of home products Natalie Hitchins said.
“Our analysis shows how important it can be to shop around to ensure you get the best price for your groceries.”
The Which? shopping trolley used in the analysis included bread, crisps, butter, cheese, cleaning products, pet food, soft drinks and other everyday items from well-known brands.
Here are the average monthly costs of the 53 branded items in each supermarket trolley, according to Which?
1. Sainsbury’s, £107.01
2. Asda, £107.65
3. Morrisons, £109.13
4. Tesco, £112.40
5. Ocado, £116.40
6. Waitrose, £117.81
with PA Wires
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