We hear so much about the competition between budget retailers Aldi and Lidl, but it seems other supermarkets are going head to head as they battle it out for our custom amid the cost of living crisis. Both Morrisons and Asda announced price cuts to help shoppers this week.
While Asda launched its Dropped & Locked promotion, reducing the price of more than 100 products and locking them in place until the end of the year, Morrisons quickly followed suit, announcing cuts on more than 500 products as well as better multi-save deals.
Tea bags, rice, cheddar cheese, chicken and mince are just a few of the items included in Asda's scheme. Meanwhile, 'key deals' highlighted by Morrisons include everything from diced beef and eggs, to flour and Weetabix.
READ MORE:
We all know how good retailers can make their offers sound, which is why I decided to visit both supermarkets to see which was cheapest. To make it a fair comparison, I made sure I selected some of Asda's Dropped & Locked products, some of the 500 cut price items at Morrisons and some that aren't in any of the offers at all, like milk, Heinz baked beans, bananas and their own-branded crisps.
I bought like-for-like products where possible and where sizes differ - such as Asda's Smart Price toilet rolls being more than double the length of Morrisons' Savers - I have adjusted the prices accordingly. One thing that soon became clear is that despite the promotions from both supermarkets to try to lure shoppers in, there are often cheaper products available at both stores.
Asda's chopped tomatoes for instance, have been price locked at 38p for a 400g tin. And, while it's a reduction on the Morrisons' ones, which cost 45p, both sell their own budget ranges for cheaper - Asda Smart Price and Morrisons Savers - for 28p a tin. Among Morrisons' price cuts is its 250g pack of 5% fat mince, down to £1.79, yet its 500g pack is £2.99, and Asda has price locked its 500g pack at £2.90, so all too often these offers aren't all they're cracked up to be.
That's not to say shoppers won't benefit at all and any discounts retailers are offering are welcomed by shoppers at a time when most are struggling to pay their bills. Overall it was Asda that came out cheapest for the 28 items I bought, but there wasn't much in it - £49 at Asda and £50.87 at Morrisons.
If I'd have taken advantage of more of Morrisons' multi-saves - 'over 180 additional products have been included in new and improved multi save promotions - I could have made further savings on its Amour ice cream lollies and the white Hovis loaf, both of which are on a 2 for £2 offer, but it wouldn't have altered the final outcome.
However it's worth noting that while its eggs worked out more expensive at £2.99 for a whopping 30-pack, that's for better quality free range ones, rather than Asda's cheaper caged hen packs. Asda's cheapest mixed weight free range packs cost £2 for 15, so would have been a price hike of £1.01 on Morrisons' if they'd been in stock.
It's clear from the many supermarket comparisons we've done that shoppers will always save money by opting for the stores' budget ranges.
But often it's the branded products that are the most popular and it's good to see that retailers are making changes across the board. Let's hope the other supermarkets now follow suit.
Mohsin Issa, co-owner of Asda, said: “We know that household budgets are being squeezed by an increasing cost of living and we are committed to doing everything we can to support our customers, colleagues and communities in these exceptionally tough times.
“We’re standing side by side with the families and communities who are juggling so many demands at the moment. We’re taking unprecedented action to give families some additional stability and certainty in their weekly shopping by lowering and locking over 100 prices until the end of the year."
David Potts, chief executive of Morrisons, said: “We know that our customers are under real financial pressure at the moment and we want to play our part in helping them when it comes to the cost of grocery shopping.
"These price cuts will have a noticeable and long term impact on our customers' budgets and demonstrate our commitment to offering them the best possible value.”
Where are you finding the cheapest products at the moment? Do you stick to the same supermarket for your big shop? Let us know in the comments here.
Asda / Morrisons
- Mince 5% fat 500g £2.90 / £3.09
- Patak's tikka masala sauce 450g £1.15 / £1.85
- John West tuna 4 x 145g £3 / £3
- Chopped tomatoes 400g 38p / 45p
- Asda Moments £1 / Morrisons Amour £1.19
- Wafer thin cooked ham 400g £2 / Wafer thin smoked ham 400 £2
- Diced chicken breast 500g £3.65 / Chicken breast pieces 1kg £5.19 (£2.59 for 500g)
- Shreddies 390g £2 / 460g £2.40 (£2.03 for 390g)
- Breadsticks 125g 55p / 85p
- I Can't Believe It's Not Butter 450g £1 / Utterly Butterly 500g £1.50 (£1.35 for 450g)
- Mild cheddar 750g £3.50 / 2 x 400g £4 (£3.75 for 750g)
- Heinz baked beans 4-pack £2.75 / £3
- Bananas 79p a kg / 79p a kg
- Bread (Hovis white loaf) £1.20 / £1.20
- Milk 2 pints 95p / 99p
- Crisps 6-pack 85p / 85p
- Tomato and mascarpone pasta sauce £1.60 per 300g pot or 2 for £3 / £1.65 per 350g pot or 2 for £3 (£2.57)
- Smart Price chocolate 33p / Savers chocolate 30p
- Iced ring donuts £1.20 / 99p
- Toilet rolls £1.93 (6 x 400-sheet rolls) equivalent of 87p for 180-sheet rolls / 97p (6 x 180-sheet rolls)
- Mixed weight eggs £1.18 for 15, 30-pack £2.36 / 30-pack £2.99
- Beef burgers 4-pack reduced fat £3 / 5% fat £3.49
- Kettle Chips lightly salted 150g £1.95 / £2
- Plain flour 1.5kg 49p / 45p
- British diced beef £3 per 250g pack or 2 for £4 (£3.44 for 430g) / 430g £3.59
- Weetabix 24-pack £3 / £2.75
- Paracetamol 16-pack 29p / 29p
- Mini Rolls 10-pack £1.40 / £1.50
Total Asda £49 / Morrisons £50.87
To keep on top of the news and events for families in Manchester, sign up to the Manchester Family newsletter here.
