As supermarkets go, Sainsbury's traditionally was always known as one of the most expensive.
A few years back and not many customers would have considered it as a valid alternative to budget retailers like Lidl and Aldi.
Its reputation for prices was more on a par with Waitrose or Marks and Spencer.
But just like M&S, it's had somewhat of a turnaround over the last year or so and is pulling in more customers than ever thanks to initiatives such as Aldi Price Match, Price Lock and My Nectar Prices.
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Earlier this year we reported how customers told us they had made the unlikely switch to the 'posh' retailer, including one mum who said she was not only impressed with the Aldi Price Match scheme, but praised the quality of food compared to elsewhere.
We then headed there to do our own big shop and were impressed with many of the prices, particularly the large number of special offers available.
Its bid to rival the budget supermarkets has been no secret.
We reported in December how Sainsbury's CEO Simon Roberts had shared his vision for it to become 'as cheap as Aldi' and said they were seeing 'more customers coming back to us from the discounters' - a claim that Aldi refutes.
Announcing a £550m investment to boost its competitiveness, he admitted he was prepared to accept a fall in profits in the short term in order to ensure Sainsbury's stayed competitive for shoppers.
His plan seems to be bearing fruit as for the first time in our weekly comparison of the same essentials from every supermarket - something we've been doing for more than a year - Sainsbury's has taken the lead over Aldi with a bill of £12.07.
They are only a penny apart, with Aldi at £12.08, but it'll be cause for celebration in Sainsbury's HQ, which is keen to get the message across to shoppers that it's going all out to support them through the cost of living crisis.
Our comparison has tracked the prices of the same essentials since March 2022. The basket includes milk, bread, coffee, tea bags, butter, beans, chicken and mince.
Lidl remains the cheapest, at £11.68, and has actually come down this week after following the lead of Aldi and Tesco by cutting the price of a two pint bottle of milk to £1.20. All the other retailers have now done the same.
In second place is Tesco at £12.06, followed by Sainsbury's at £12.07, Aldi at £12.08, Morrisons at £12.65 and Asda at £12.80.
In response to our article about shoppers switching to Sainsbury's from the budget retailers, Aldi said it would be 'entirely wrong' to suggest that, as industry data suggests the opposite.
A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said: “We are putting all of our energy into battling inflation so that customers get the very best prices when they shop with us, particularly now as household budgets are under more pressure than ever. We are fully committed to passing on savings on the products our customers buy most often and as a result, prices on our top 100 selling products are lower than they were in March, against a market where prices have gone up.
"We’ve previously invested over £560m in price and we’re not stopping there. In the last quarter we’ve spent £60m on saving customers money through key initiatives like our Stamford Street own-brand value range, our biggest ever Aldi Price Match and through Nectar Prices.
“Nectar Prices is Sainsbury’s latest loyalty initiative, providing Nectar customers with big savings on a wide range of products when shopping in Sainsbury’s supermarkets or online (excludes locals).
"Nectar customers can expect lower prices on over 3000 products, including household products, pet food and confectionery, dairy, bakery, ready meals and fruit and vegetables when using their Nectar app or card at checkout. We have seen an increase of 1 million Nectar customers since the launch of Nectar Prices in April saving them £90m over this period.”
Responding to the result of this week's price comparison, an Aldi spokesperson said: “This survey is not representative of a weekly shop at Aldi and doesn’t take into account the higher quality of our items, which are matched to household brands.
"We have been named the UK’s Cheapest Supermarket, according to consumer champion Which? for the last 13 months consecutively. Our promise to our customers remains that we will always offer the best value groceries in the UK.”
The retailer points out that the products looked at aren't necessarily like-for-like, with Aldi's teabags 'better quality, and 100g heavier than Sainsbury’s and Tesco’s' and the beans 20g heavier than Sainsbury's.
Have you changed where you shop amid the cost of living crisis? Are you surprised that Sainsbury's is cheaper than Aldi for these items? Let us know in the comments.
Here's the full list:
Lidl
Loaf of white bread 800g - 45p
Milk 2 pints - £1.20 (down from £1.25)
Coffee 200g - £1.99
Teabags 160 - £1.19
Salted butter 250g - £1.89
Beans 420g tin - 28p
Chicken 300g - £2.29
Mince 500g 25% fat (20% fat no longer available) - £2.39 (down from £2.45)
Total £11.68 (down from £11.79)
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) - £1.48
Salted butter 250g - £1.89
Beans 420g tin - 28p
Chicken 300g - £2.29
Mince 500g 20% fat -£2.49
Total £12.06
Sainsbury's
Loaf of white bread 800g - 45p
Milk 2 pints - £1.20 (down from £1.25)
Coffee 200g £1.99
Teabags 160 - £1.49
Salted butter 250g - £1.89
Beans 400g tin - 27p
Chicken 300g - £2.29
Mince 500g 20% fat - £2.49
Total £12.07 (down from £12.12)
Aldi
Loaf of white bread 800g - 45p
Milk 2 pints - £1.20
Coffee 200g - £1.99
Teabags 160 - £1.49
Salted butter 250g - £1.89
Beans 420g tin - 28p
Chicken 300g - £2.29
Mince 500g 20% fat -£2.49
Total £12.08
Morrisons
Loaf of white bread 800g - 75p
Milk 2 pints - £1.20 (down from £1.25)
Coffee (2 x 100g) - £1.98
Teabags 160 (2 x 80-pack Savers) - £1.48
Savers Salted butter 250g - £1.89
Beans 410g tin - 27p
Chicken 300g - £2.59
Mince 500g 20% fat - £2.49
Total: £12.65 (down from £12.70)
Asda
Loaf of white bread 800g (Just Essentials) - 45p
Milk 2 pints - £1.20 (down from £1.25)
Coffee 200g (2 x 100g Just Essentials) - £1.98
Teabags 160 (4 x 40-pack Just Essentials) - £1.52
Salted butter 250g - £1.89
Beans 410g tin (Just Essentials) - 27p
Chicken 300g - £3
Mince 500g 20% fat -£2.49 (down from £2.79)
Total £12.80 (down from £13.15)
Aldi also argues that its tea bags are a higher quality than Lidl's 'One Cup', but our comparison has simply used the cheapest 160-box available. Or, as in the case of Tesco and Asda, multiple smaller packs to make up that number.
