Asda has managed to hold onto its long-reigning title as the online supermarket currently offering shoppers the lowest prices, according to new monthly research.
The Big Four grocer was crowned the UK's cheapest online supermarket for a basket of groceries that was almost £20 cheaper than the most expensive.
Online price-tracking website Alertr has been monitoring price increases and decreases across six major UK supermarkets, including Morrisons, Tesco, Sainsbury's, Ocado and Waitrose. The latest prices from all supermarkets have risen in comparison to last months findings.
The latest research has found Asda is still the most affordable option for the weekly online shop, with a total of £117.34 - which is a 28p increase from the previous month.
It comes as families across the country have been switching up their shopping habits in a bid to keep their weekly shopping bills down as food prices continue to soar.
Morrisons offered shoppers the second cheapest online shop for three out of the four week analysis, as they narrowly managed to beat out Tesco by just 87p. As Morrisons costs increased near the end of the month their basket value went up by £5.79 from £123.66 in week three to £129.45 in week four, while Tesco offered the second cheapest basket shop for the last week of the month at £124.65.
Sainsbury's slid to fourth place this month with a total of £124.90 for the same basket of items, which was a whopping £4.03 more expensive than last months findings.
Premium supermarkets Waitrose and Ocado were still found to be the two most expensive online supermarkets, with a total of £137.13 and £135.99 respectively. It means that shoppers could save £19.79 by switching from Waitrose to Asda for their weekly shop.
Looking into price changes across the board, the price of alcohol, including gin, vodka and beer, fluctuated throughout the month across all six supermarkets as Britons were shopping in anticipation for the Women’s Euros. Gin and vodka at Morrisons and Asda started the month at £13 and then, for the last two weeks of the month – when England reached the finals – increased by almost 20% to £16 at both supermarkets. Furthermore, a pack of four beers at Asda cost just £4 for the first week of July, and then went up to £4.60 during the week of the Women’s Euros final.
Moreover, the price of chocolate also varied throughout the month for all supermarkets, as parents shopped for teacher’s gifts ahead of the kid’s summer holidays commencing. Morrisons and Sainsbury’s both slashed the price of a 360g Cadbury chocolate bar by £1 at the end of the month, dropping from £4 to £3, while Asda and Ocado increased theirs by 50p and £1 respectively.
Alertr co-founder Andy Barr commented: "For the weekly shop, as it currently stands, there’s still a stark difference between the top and bottom spots on the leader board of almost £20, which has increased substantially from last month.
"Throughout the year so far, we’ve seen much less disparity across the rest of the board, and this is still the case, especially between those supermarkets placing second, third and fourth on a regular basis – Morrisons, Tesco and Sainsbury’s.
"However, Asda remains at the top of the leader board with a respectable price difference of £6.06 between them and runners-up, Morrisons. While the 86p price difference between Morrisons and Tesco, and the 64p difference between Tesco and Sainsbury’s, shows that the top four supermarkets are once again competing much more closely.
“It’ll be interesting to see how the battle of the supermarkets will play out over the next few months – whether Asda will continue to reign supreme and if the other spots on the leader board alternate again.
"With the cost-of-living crisis squeezing household incomes more than ever, and as the prices of everyday staples such as milk and bread continue to climb, who knows how the supermarket sector will cope in the latter stages of the year.
"On top of this, the October price cap increase will inevitably cause many families to make the most difficult choices in their lives, such as having to choose between heating and eating – so it’ll certainly be telling how supermarkets react to this and if product prices increase further.”
The full breakdown of each supermarkets basket costs for the month of June are...
- ASDA – £117.34 (+28p compared to last month’s findings)
- Morrisons – £123.40 (+£1.20)
- Tesco – £124.26 (+£1.85)
- Sainsbury’s – £124.90 (+£4.03)
- Ocado – £135.99 (+£5.79)
- Waitrose – £137.13 (+£4.28)
Alertr has been tracking the prices on a basket of 42 everyday items, including eggs, milk and bread, across the six major supermarkets since 2019. Both Lidl and Aldi are not included in the research as they do not currently offer shoppers a full online shop.
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