Tesco has been named the cheapest supermarket for branded groceries in September, knocking Asda off the top spot for the first time in eight months. However, the lower prices are only available to customers who use a Clubcard.
Consumer group Which? has been comparing branded groceries across UK supermarkets for the past eight months. In September, Tesco took the crown, with Asda falling to second place.
Which? September shopping list
The Which? shopping list for September included 219 popular branded groceries such as Heinz beans, Nescafé coffee and Mr Kipling cakes. The full list of products came to £757.71 with a Clubcard scanned at Tesco, compared to £861.50 without a loyalty card – a 13.7% increase.
Asda took second place at £760.36, just slightly more expensive than Tesco with a Clubcard. Morrisons was £773.42 without a loyalty card and £771.81 with one.
Most expensive supermarket
The most expensive supermarket was Sainsbury's. Without a Nectar loyalty card, the shop came in at £869.65 – 14.77% pricier than Tesco with a Clubcard. With Nectar, Sainsbury's was still nearly 4% more expensive than Tesco with a Clubcard, at £786.82.
Without either loyalty card, both Sainsbury's and Tesco were more expensive than high-end Waitrose, which came to £829.04.
Price differences on individual items
Which? analysts compared the average price of branded groceries across supermarkets in September. On average, Pampers 1 Premium Protection New Baby Diapers (x50) saw the biggest difference between the highest and lowest price. They were at their lowest price at Asda (£4.27) and their highest price at Waitrose (£9.27) – a 117% difference for shoppers.
Nescafe Azera Americano Instant Coffee (90g) was £3.75 at Tesco with a Clubcard, but without a loyalty card it was £7.25 at Tesco and Sainsbury's – a 93% difference.
A Tesco spokesperson told Which?: "Clubcard unlocks the best savings at Tesco, and with more than 80% of sales at Tesco involving a Clubcard, millions of customers are unlocking the extra value that Clubcard provides each week. But Clubcard unlocks even more than Clubcard Prices, as the Clubcard Points Tesco customers collect on their shopping offer savings on everything from meals out and cinema tickets to holidays and travel."
A Sainsbury's spokesperson said: "Eleven out of the 12 items flagged in this report were cheaper on Nectar Prices and with 85% of sales involving a Nectar card, we’re confident our customers are getting great value when they shop with us. We have not been able to verify the calculations used by Which? as the group has not shared its full analysis with us. We continue to focus on offering outstanding value on the products people buy most often, with more than 10,000 Nectar Price offers available every week on top of personalised Your Nectar Prices."
