Cheapest supermarket in March named as food prices continue to soar

Lidl has been named the cheapest supermarket in March, beating rivals Asda and Sainsbury’s.

A basket of 33 common items cost £53.06 at Lidl last week, compared to £60.19 at Asda, The Grocer reports.

Meanwhile the same goods were priced at £63.26 at Sainsbury’s, £64.55 at Tesco, £72.73 at Morrisons and £85.40 at Waitrose.

As the cost of living crisis bites, food prices are increasing to record levels with a basket of items at Lidl costing 4.5% more than a year ago (an extra £2.31), despite being crowned the cheapest supermarket.

Is Lidl really the cheapest supermarket?

The Grocer revealed that Lidl was the cheapest supermarket in their latest price test.

It was also voted the cheapest supermarket by consumer group Which? in its own rankings in February.

The monthly price test by Which? compares the cost of 23 essential goods including own-brands and items such as Hovis bread over the course of the month to reveal the cheapest grocer.

It found that, on average, shoppers would have paid £24.21 at Lidl, beating rival Aldi by 62p.

Groceries with some of the biggest price differences included PG Tips tea bags, which had a difference of £1.52 between Lidl and Waitrose - and own-label seedless grapes which had a difference of £1.41.

What items were included in the average basket?

The full list of the 33 items used to work out the cheapest supermarket is:

Pink lady apples (six-pack)

Dried apricots own-label

Aquafresh little teeth toothpaste (age 3-5)

Baby potatoes own-label

Sliced beetroot own-label

Black Sheep ale 500ml bottle

Carrots own-label organic

Chocolate cake own-label premium

Coca-Cola Original 1.25l bottle

Domestos original thick bleach 750g

Double Gloucester cheese own-label 250g

Egg noodles own-label medium 250g

Eggs own-label free-range large 12-pack

Fillet steak own-label, premium, 170g

Greek-style yoghurt own-label with honey

Ham and mushroom tagliatelle ready-meal own-label chilled 400g

Hartley’s jelly orange 135g

Instant coffee own-label, gold, 200g

McVities Club biscuits orange

Milk semi-skimmed own-label 1,136ml

Mr Kipling Apple Pies bramley six-pack

Nurofen tablets 16-pack 200mg

Orange own-label smooth from concentrate one litre

Parsnips own-label 500g

Peanuts chilli own-label 200g

Peas own-label frozen 1kg

PG tips pyramid 240 bags 696g

Pulled pork own-label, with smokey BBQ sauce

Spinach own label 260g

Sticky toffee sponge puddings own label 2x110g

Tortilla chips cool 200g

Vanish stain remover Oxi Advance Crystal White, 1.5kg

White toastie loaf Own-label, thick sliced 800g

The Grocer usually includes Aldi, Iceland, Amazon, M&S and Ocado in its price test but did not this time.

What about the quality of service at Lidl?

Despite being crowned the cheapest supermarket this month, Lidl came second to last when it comes to service.

The top supermarket for service was Asda, with 85/100, then Waitrose (77/100), Tesco (75/100) and Sainsbury’s (72/100).

The discount supermarket got a score of 65/100 for this, with Morrisons coming last with 58/100.

Why are food prices rising?

Shop prices are rising at the fastest rate for more than a decade as the cost of living crisis worsens.

Grocery prices are rising at 4.3%, data from number crunchers Kantar recorded.

It found the price of savoury snacks, fresh beef and cat food were going up the most.

There are a number of factors behind these increases, but it is largely due to rising prices of raw materials used to manufacture food and the cost of processing, packaging and distribution.

Rising fuel costs have also impacted the cost of producing various food and drinks, while supply chain disruption has also caused issues in the industry.

A version of this article originally appeared on NationalWorld.com