A survey carried out by consumer affairs group Which? revealed Morrisons to be the Britain’s cheapest major supermarket in 2017, overtaking last year’s winner Asda.
Britain’s six main supermarkets, Asda, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose, were involved in the survey, which tracked the cost of 75 popular branded products over the course of the year.
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The comparison was conducted by comparing hypothetical baskets of branded groceries, such as PG Tips teabags and Warburtons bread. The cost average for Morrison was £142.76 over the course of the year, with rival Asda close behind with an average price of £142.80
Waitrose was revealed to be the most expensive supermarket, with an average basket price of £154.01.
Data from independent shopping website MySupermarket was used to calculate the average price, for each item at each shop, including discounts, but not multi-buys, across the whole of 2017, which helped establish the average basket price at each shop.
The price comparison was conducted monthly and Morrisons was found to be the cheapest supermarket seven times during 2017, and stayed the cheapest supermarket over the four months leading to the New Year, ending the year on a high note.
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By GlobalDataOver Christmas period Morrisons sales were up 2.8% compared with the same period last year, not including new stores openings.
The chain said it had become more competitive, and despite the rising cost of many commodities the price of a basket of key Christmas items was the same as the previous year.
“More and more customers found more things they wanted to buy at competitive prices at Morrisons this Christmas, said Morrisons chief executive David Potts.
Discount stores including Aldi and Lidl were not included in the contest as they do not sell the branded products used to compare the prices. While Morrisons was revealed to be Britain’s cheapest major supermarket, discount stores are still chosen by customers for more affordable alternatives.
Lidl recently overtook Waitrose in market share, accounting for 5.2% of sales, compared to Waitrose 5.1%.
Aldi also saw good results saying it was its “best Christmas” after the discounter moved into ‘luxury’ products that attracted customers who traditionally shopped in one of the big six supermarkets.
According to new figures from retail analysts Kantar Worldpanel, the average household spent a record £1,054 on groceries in the last three months of 2017.
“Overall supermarket sales increased in value by 3.8%, with an additional £1bn ringing through the tills compared to the same festive period last year,” said Fraser McKevitt, Head of Retail and Consumer Insight at Kantar Worldpanel.
