Aldi has been crowned the cheapest supermarket in Australia, according to the latest CHOICE 2017 Supermarket Price Survey.
The discount supermarket has beaten local grocery rivals Coles and Woolworths.
While IGA was named as the most expensive among all of them, with Coles running in second place as the priciest. Coles ($170.54) only marginally ahead of Woolworths ($168.74).
“Although the big supermarkets make a lot of very loud claims about value, it’s clear Aldi is Australia’s cheapest supermarket and it is forcing the big two to compete on price,” CHOICE spokesman Tom Godfrey said on Tuesday.
The survey has shown consumers can save nearly $80 by switching from leading brands to a basket of Aldi budget products.
“It is clear when you look at the prices across the baskets, that Aldi is the price leader and those states with the [discount supermarket] are keen to have cheaper leading brand prices,” Godfrey told AAP.
The survey has compared the average cost of 33 popular products at Coles, Woolworths and Aldi across 110 Australian supermarkets, including Nutri-grain, OMO laundry detergent, Tim Tam, Coca Cola, Dairy Farmers Milk and five fresh fruit and vegetables.
The pricing differential between CHOICE’s basket of Coles Brand and Aldi’s private label products had declined by almost two-thirds, from 23 per cent to just 8 per cent over the past two years, based on the previous Supermarket Price Survey 2015.
In the budget brand category, ALDI was dubbed the cheapest basket ($102.50) above Woolworths (112.89) and Coles ($113.10). Consumers were found to be paying only $91.76 for a similar basket of Aldi budget brands.
Godfrey also said shoppers have become more cautious in recent years of how much they are spending on groceries amid rising consumer prices.
“There is no doubt that family budgets are under a great deal of pressure,” he said, adding it is little surprise that price is the deciding factor in what to buy and where to shop.
Non-Aldi states such as Tasmania and the Northern Territory are serving up some of the most expensive leading brand baskets, but in South Australia and Western Australia, Aldi’s push is helping to deliver the cheapest leading brand prices at around $168 in those states.
Despite its cheaper prices, the German retailer is lagging behind Coles and Woolworths when it comes to stocking leading brand items and products.
CHOICE also has confirmed that Coles has consistently cut prices to save customers money every time they shop.
Coles has recorded cumulative food and liquor deflation of 7.5 per cent from FY09 to FY16. The Aussie supermarket said they are “continuing to reduce prices on thousands of branded and private-label products across our stores, so customers can save on their shopping at Coles.” The Australian grocer said they are proud of their exclusive Coles Brand products.