Sainsbury’s has emerged as the cheapest big four supermarket chain, according to new research by MySupermarket.com.
The price comparison website examined a basket of 24 everyday food items, including bread, bananas, eggs, milk, potatoes and cereal, from the UK’s leading grocers and found Sainsburys basket costs £30.38, compared to £30.43 at Asda and £31.15 at Tesco .
Asda had occupied the position of cheapest supermarket since the economic downturn started taking its toll on consumers a year ago.
However, the website found that food and drink prices have increased by 19.2 per cent at the Wal-Mart owned retailer and 20.5 per cent at Tesco during the past twelve months, compared to 13.4 per cent at Sainsbury’s .
Jonny Steel, a spokesman for MySupermarket.com, said: “Consumers have again seen considerable increases on the price of their everyday food items over the past year.”
“With increases such as this, many shoppers are turning to cheaper options where possible and surrendering brand loyalty in order to beat the increases.”
He added: “By downshifting to supermarket own brands on everyday products and taking full advantage of supermarket offers, we know it is possible to save around 20 per cent on a typical weekly shop, which beats the year on year food inflation.”
James Flower, a senior consultant at Verdict, explained that customers keen to save money amid the recession are trading down to discount stores or middle-market supermarkets that are offering discounts.
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