Aldi is up to 30 per cent cheaper than the ‘big five’ supermarkets despite the fact they have been cutting prices on shopping basket essentials. The budget chain continues to undercut the giants on everything from fruit and vegetables to eggs and pasta, an independent study found. Aldi came out cheapest on a basket of 33 commonly bought items at a total of £42.15, a saving of almost £8 compared to the £50.11 charged by Asda. Tesco was next best at £53.97, then Morrisons on £54.29 and Waitrose at £59.98. An new study has found that Aldi, pictured, continues to undercut the big five supermarkets on everything from produce to eggs and pasta . The German retailer was a remarkable £18 – 29.9 per cent – cheaper than Sainsbury’s, which came in at £60.15 in the survey by The Grocer magazine. The figures suggest that families could comfortably save more than £1,000 a year by switching to a budget supermarket. The mainstream stores insist the figures are not a fair reflection of prices. However it is clear customers believe the discount chains really do make their money go further. Aldi’s sales are up 19.3 per cent on a year ago, giving it a market share of 5 per cent, which is almost on a par with Waitrose. The growth of Aldi and its rival Lidl has triggered the greatest change in shopping habits since the 1950s when the large supermarkets first arrived to push aside independent traders. Studies suggest their combination of low prices and awards for their upmarket ranges of food and drink has successfully attracted the ‘BMW classes’ to their no-frills outlets. The mainstream stores, which have lost millions of customers, have responded by slashing prices on high profile items such as milk and bread, which is hurting their finances. Tesco has issued a series of profit warnings and Morrisons last week announced trading profits have halved. Even Waitrose has been dragged into the price war and has just reported a 24 per cent fall in annual profits. Such has been the impact of price cuts that it is now cheaper to feed a family than a year ago, and CPI inflation is expected to show Britain is about to enter its first period of deflation since the 1960s. Research by retail analysts Him! has revealed a significant change in the type of people shopping at Aldi and Lidl. The proportion who are in the wealthiest AB demographic category is up from 12 per cent in 2013 to 31 per cent today. However, the low prices are part of a package which means service at the budget chains is often below what people have come to expect. The Grocer found Aldi came bottom in terms of store layout, clutter in the aisles and difficulty getting through the ‘illogical, frantic and cramped check-out’. Sainsbury’s said the figures in the study were skewed by the fact it covers only a small number of the many thousands of items it stocks. It said it was very easy to identify products that are around the same figure as Aldi, such as onions, cornflakes, jam and English butter. A spokesman said: ‘We don’t think this price comparison is fair. ‘It’s a very small selection of products that changes every week. It is a randomness that can’t ever really equal fairness. It also doesn’t match up with our internal data or external data sources. 'We have plenty of data like this which demonstrates that we have never been more competitive on price.’
Independent study finds that Aldi is 30% cheaper than the big five retailers . Chain continues to undercut prices on everything from produce to pasta . A basket of 33 commonly bought items at Aldi costs a total of just £42.15 . This compares to Sainsbury's where the same items are priced at £60.15 . Aldi's year on year sales are up 19.3% giving it a market share of 5% .