Yahoo News Aldi and Lidl price match backfires as it makes supermarket more expensive for these essentials
A supermarket is no longer cheapest for a basket of essentials after matching another of the products to Aldi and Lidl prices.
For the last fortnight, Morrisons has been the cheapest of the six main supermarkets in our weekly comparison, which looks at the price of mince, chicken, a two-pint bottle of milk, a loaf of bread, coffee, teabags, butter and beans.
It took over the lead from Lidl, which had held the cheapest title consistently since January last year.
Read more: 'I tried the cheapest supermarket tea bags and realise I've been taken for a mug'
Its price drop was largely down to the fact it launched a new Savers product, a similar 25% fat 500g pack of mince, similar to those sold in Aldi and Lidl, but priced at £1.99, where theirs are £2.29.
But now Morrisons has included the mince in its Aldi and Lidl Price Match scheme, which was introduced in February with the aim of keeping prices low for customers. And, because the budget retailers both charge more, Morrisons has now followed suit.
It means the retailer is now in third place behind the budget stores, with a bill of £12.27. Lidl is once again cheapest, at £12.11, with Aldi close behind at £12.14.
The three most expensive are close in price, with Tesco at £12.32 and Sainsbury's and Asda joint most expensive at £12.33.
It's not all bad news at Morrisons however. We reported earlier how its price match involves a relatively small number of products and our big shop there revealed a number of impressive money-saving offers, especially on big brands.
Aldi disputes the results of our weekly comparison, saying that it does not take into account like-for-like products or ‘the higher quality’ of its products. The supermarket says, for example, that Aldi beans are 20g heavier than Sainsbury's and that Aldi teabags are 'better quality than the comparative products used'.
Asda also disagrees with our comparison and says that our small sample of products does not represent the fuller picture of prices and does not account for its deals. The supermarket says that, across the board, its Just Essentials range is the largest and cheapest available, alongside Aldi's.
Morrisons says its price match covers more than 200 items including cornflakes, canned tomatoes, baby wipes, rice, bread, and household cleaning supplies such as bleach and toilet rolls. The match covers 100 per cent British beef mince, chicken fillets, semi-skimmed milk, and carrots.
The supermarket says it checks prices twice a week and makes any adjustments that may be required. Customers can also save more money through Morrison's More Card loyalty programme, which offers 'exclusive prices' on a wide variety of products as well as points which can be spent in-store, online, or on fuel.
The full list is as follows:
Lidl
Loaf of white bread 800g - 45p
Milk 2 pints - £1.20
Coffee 200g - £1.99
Teabags 240 - £2.79 / equates to £1.86 for 160
Salted butter 250g - £1.69
Beans 420g tin - 28p
Chicken 300g - £2.35
Mince 500g 25% fat - £2.29
Total £12.11
Aldi
Loaf of white bread 800g - 45p
Milk 2 pints - £1.20
Coffee 200g - £1.99
Teabags 160 - £1.89
Salted butter 250g - £1.69
Beans 420g tin - 28p
Chicken 300g - £2.35
Mince 500g 25% fat - £2.29
Total £12.14
Morrisons
Loaf of white bread 800g - 45p
Milk 2 pints - £1.20
Coffee (2 x 100g) - £1.98
Teabags 160 (2 x 80-pack Savers) - £1.58
Savers Salted butter 250g - £1.69
Beans 410g tin - 27p
Chicken 300g - £2.65 for 330g, equates to £2.41 for 300g
Mince 500g 25% fat - £2.29 (up from £1.99)
Total £12.27 (up from £11.97)
Tesco
Loaf of white bread 800g - 45p
Milk 2 pints - £1.20
Coffee 200g (2 x 100g) - £1.98
Teabags 160 (2 x 80-pack) - £1.88
Salted butter 250g - £1.69
Beans 420g tin - 28p
Chicken 300g - £2.35
Mince 500g 20% fat - £2.49
Total £12.32
Asda
Loaf of white bread 800g (Just Essentials) - 45p
Milk 2 pints - £1.20
Coffee 200g (2 x 100g Just Essentials) - £1.98
Teabags 160 (4 x 40-pack Just Essentials) - £1.60
Salted butter 250g - £1.69
Beans 410g tin (Just Essentials) - 27p
Chicken 300g - £2.65
Mince 500g 20% fat -£2.49
Total £12.33
Sainsbury's
Loaf of white bread 800g - 45p
Milk 2 pints - £1.20
Coffee 200g - £1.99
Teabags 160 - £1.89
Salted butter 250g - £1.69
Beans 400g tin - 27p
Chicken 300g - £2.35
Mince 500g 20% fat - £2.49
Total £12.33
