Asda revealed as cheapest UK supermarket in September

Asda (WMT) was the cheapest UK supermarket in the month on September, according to research by online price tracking website Alertr based on the government-based consumer price index.

The supermarket took the top spot for the fifth month in a row last month. Asda was cheapest for three out of five weeks, with Iceland taking the top spot for the last two weeks of a five-week period analysed in September.

Asda was cheapest overall with an average basket spend of £130.36. Iceland came in second place with an average spend of £132.40, followed by Sainsbury’s (£135.24), Waitrose (£139.50), Tesco (£139.64), and Morrisons (£141.53).

Online retailer Ocado (OCDO.L) is currently the priciest UK supermarket coming in with an average basket spend of £151.24 — £3.31 more than the previous month.

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Andy Barr, co-founder of Alertr.co.uk, said: “It is interesting to see that, once again, Waitrose has unexpectedly been more affordable than some of our go-to ‘cheaper’ stores that one may assume they are going to find more reasonably priced items within.

“Despite Tesco (TSCO.L) continuously coming up as one of the more expensive retailers, the data from September does seem to indicate that they’ve begun to drop their prices as we enter another tricky phase regarding the global pandemic.

“Sainsbury’s (SBRY.L) is also another surprise as it comes in third cheapest retailer for the shopping list, somewhat surprising as it’s notoriously known for its higher-end offerings.

“At this point, it’s starting to look like Asda can’t be beaten on their low prices, and competitors will really have to think about introducing better deals or offers in order to keep customers loyal, particularly at a time when so many are looking to cut their spending in any way possible.”

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Beers saw the most consistent price fluctuations across retailers in September, with San Miguel Premium Lager 440ml priced at £5.50 in the first week of September at Asda, dropping to £4.60 in the third week, according to Alertr’s analysis of 43 everyday items from the shopping basket on the Office for National Statistics’ consumer price index.

A 750g box of Yorkshire Tea teabags at Morrisons (MRW.L) stayed the same price every week in September, until week five when they went from £5 to £7. This is common practice according to Alertr, and “we will likely see it drop back to £5 in a few weeks to make consumers think they are saving money.”

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