Supermarket becomes second most expensive after price change | Personal Finance | Finance
A popular supermarket has just become the second-most-expensive for essential items after raising the price of one key product. In a comparison of the costs of a basket of basic groceries, Tesco customers were found to be paying slightly higher prices, putting it in a position once held by Morrisons.
Supermarkets were compared on the total cost of a loaf of white bread, a 2-pint milk bottle, coffee, teabags, salted butter, beans, chicken, and mince. Tesco’s total came to £13.50, with only Sainsbury’s costing more at £13.53. Tesco’s swapping positions with Morrisons came down to one item.
The price of Tesco’s cheapest Stockwell tea bags went up from 88p a box to 92p – a 5% jump since last week. However, competitor Morrisons reduced the price of its Saver bags from 88p down to 80p, further widening the gap, reports Manchester Evening News.
It comes as Tesco announced at the beginning of this year that it would keep prices low on big brands, allowing customers to make huge savings on household favourites.
The supermarket also reintroduced its iconic blue and white stripes as part of its Everyday Low Price scheme, which includes more than 3,000 branded products, including Heinz, Weetabix, Fairy Liquid and PG Tips tea bags.
Though which supermarket is the cheapest?
According to Manchester Evening News’ weekly comparison, Lidl takes the top spot for the sixth week running, with an eight-item basket costing just £13.11.
The comparison includes the cheapest items offered at each supermarket, including Morrisons’ Savers products, Sainsbury’s Stamford Street range and Asda’s Just Essentials. Though not all retailers agree with the findings, including Aldi, which says the products are not like-for-like, adding that its own Diplomat Red Label tea bags and its coffee are of ‘higher quality’ than the comparative items.
An Aldi spokesperson said: “Our customers know they can always count on us for great value across the board, without needing to join a club or show a loyalty card. That’s why Which? has named us Cheapest Supermarket of the Year for five years running.”
While a spokesperson for Sainsbury’s said: “This review of a limited number of products does not reflect the fantastic value our customers will find at Sainsbury’s. We are committed to offering the best possible value across a wide variety of products – whether that’s through our value Stamford Street range, Low Everyday Prices, Aldi Price Match or Nectar Prices.”
Asda also claims that the small sample of products does not represent the wider picture of prices and the supermarket’s deals. It added that its Just Essentials range is the largest and cheapest available alongside Aldi’s.
