Shoppers using Sainsbury’s Nectar cards have been issued a stark warning: they are £828 worse off than Aldi customers over a year’s worth of weekly shops. This revelation comes from a recent study by consumer magazine Which?, which compared the cost of 63 essential food and drink items across major supermarkets.
Aldi emerged as the clear winner, offering the cheapest basket of goods at £113.87. Lidl followed closely behind at £116.24, while Asda came in third at £125.61. Tesco, with its Clubcard prices, averaged £127.50, while Sainsbury’s, even with Nectar Card discounts, came in at £129.81. This means Sainsbury’s shoppers are paying an extra £15.94 per week, accumulating to £828.88 over the course of a year.
The price disparity becomes even more significant without Nectar Cards. Sainsbury’s, without discounts, was the most expensive supermarket in the tested basket of goods, excluding Waitrose and Ocado. Sainsbury’s prices without a Nectar card reached £134.41, a substantial £20.54 more than Aldi. The most expensive supermarket overall was Waitrose, with a price tag of £146.98 for the same goods – almost a third more than Aldi’s price.
Which? conducted another test, examining a broader selection of 169 items, excluding Aldi and Lidl due to their limited stock of certain goods. In this comparison, Tesco came in second behind Asda, even with Clubcard discounts, and Sainsbury’s came third with a Nectar Card. The findings underscore the considerable savings available by choosing budget supermarkets like Aldi and Lidl, especially for regular grocery shoppers.
