Cheapest supermarket for your Christmas dinner this year revealed
THE cheapest place to do your supermarket shop for your Christmas dinner has been revealed.
With the big day fast approaching many households will be looking for the best value place to do their festive shopping.
Which? found German discounter Aldi to be the most affordable place last month for groceries out of the eight biggest supermarkets in the UK.
The consumer champion looked at how the retailer’s prices compared to a shopping list of 55 products, to represent a weekly shop.
The cheapest supermarket for a shopping list of 55 items was Aldi, where the groceries cost £97.89 on average across the month.
The list of 55 items included both branded and own-brand items, such as Birds Eye Peas, Hovis bread, milk and butter.
Fellow bargain store Lidl was just behind Aldi in November, costing only 38p more with the supermarket’s loyalty scheme Lidl Plus and 45p more without.
If you did the same shop at Tesco without a Clubcard would cost £108.45 or £105.61 with a Clubcard.
At Sainsbury’s, you could expect to pay £112.06 if you did not have a Nectar card or £106.71 if you have one.
Posh grocer Waitrose proved to be the most expensive with a price tag of £123.32 for 55 item shop.
This was followed by online grocer Ocado who charged £116.76 for the same amount of items.
Meanwhile, for a bigger shop of 159 items, a Tesco shop with a Clubcard has worked out the cheapest coming in at £399.73.
This beat Asda big shop by £9.63, whereas the same shop would cost £409.36.
Waitrose again was the most expensive costing £452.09.
Aldi and Lidl are not included in that comparison as they have a smaller range of products compared to the other supermarkets.
Harry Rose, editor of Which? magazine said with Christmas just around the corner, people are looking to cut costs where they can.
“Our analysis shows that by switching supermarkets consumers could save up to 21% highlighting the advantages of shopping around where possible.”
CHRISTMAS ON A BUDGET
It is worth bearing in mind that the research carried out by Which? was based on prices for 55 products across November only.
That means they are just a snapshot of what you might pay at different times of the year.
Prices change frequently, sometimes daily, and you will find items on offer in one chain one week and then in another the following week.
But if you are planning to do your Christmas shop on a budget you may want to take these prices into account.
Aldi is the cheapest but the store does not always have as much variety or branded products as bigger grocers such as Tesco or Sainsbury’s.
You can also not do online orders, meaning you will have to do your Christmas shopping in-store.
How to save money on Christmas shopping
Consumer reporter Sam Walker reveals how you can save money on your Christmas shopping.
Limit the amount of presents – buying presents for all your family and friends can cost a bomb.
Instead, why not organise a Secret Santa between your inner circles so you’re not having to buy multiple presents.
Plan ahead – if you’ve got the stamina and budget, it’s worth buying your Christmas presents for the following year in the January sales.
Make sure you shop around for the best deals by using price comparison sites so you’re not forking out more than you should though.
Buy in Boxing Day sales – some retailers start their main Christmas sales early so you can actually snap up a bargain before December 25.
Delivery may cost you a bit more, but it can be worth it if the savings are decent.
Shop via outlet stores – you can save loads of money shopping via outlet stores like Amazon Warehouse or Office Offcuts.
They work by selling returned or slightly damaged products at a discounted rate, but usually any wear and tear is minor.
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