Aldi retained its title as the UK’s cheapest supermarket in August, the eighth month in a row it has taken the top spot of the table from consumer group Which?.

Lidl was close behind in second place, while Asda came third, followed by Sainsbury’s.

Sainsbury’s also gained the upper hand in the ongoing loyalty price battle with Tesco: Which? found that shopping with a Nectar card was once again cheaper for its tracked basket than shopping at Tesco with a Clubcard.

Using a list of 92 everyday groceries, Which? found Aldi remains the best value with the shop costing £159.36 on average. Lidl was pipped to the post by £1.74, with an average price of £161.10 across August.

Having a loyalty card would save an average of 1.83 per cent at Tesco in August, but a larger 5.01 per cent at Sainsbury’s.

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The study also tracked what may impact these prices. It cited UK inflation rate rising to 2.9 per cent in the year to July, up from 2.8 per cent in June.

But grocery inflation eased to its lowest since October 2024 in August. It stood at 2.1 per cent in the four weeks until 9 August, according to Worldpanel by Numerator. This is down from 2.6 per cent in the previous month and 3 per cent the month before that. 

Ruby Flanagan, senior content producer at Which?, explained: “UK food inflation has not reached the levels forecast earlier in the year, amid fierce supermarket competition, shoppers’ resistance to further price rises and better hedging by suppliers. The data showed that shoppers spent an average of £410 on groceries over the four weeks – £14.24 less than the previous period.  

“Shoppers also turned to promotions to keep costs down, with 31.3 per cent of sales involving a deal last month – the highest level this year. Meanwhile, the premium own-label sales growth returned to double figures for the first time since March, at 11.1 per cent. Overall, 96m shopping trips included a value own-label product during the period.”