Asda back on top despite highest level of inflation

At £67.04, Asda came in £2.08 cheaper than runner-up Sainsbury’s. This was despite the cost of our shopping list soaring by 4.8% compared with this time last year, the most inflation of any of the retailers.

Asda offered the lowest price for 18 lines and was exclusively cheapest for eight. Among these were two branded lines: the Corsodyl mouthwash and Flash bleach spray. Its exclusively cheapest items also included the baby potatoes, camembert and pumpkin seeds.

Sainsbury’s, which also took second place last week, offered the lowest price for 13 lines and was exclusively cheapest for the grated cheddar, chicken korma ready meal, long-life skimmed milk and Stella Artois.

Third-placed Morrisons was £3.47 more expensive than Asda at £70.51. It offered the lowest price for eight lines but was exclusively cheapest for just one – the McCain fries.

Morrisons had the most promotional activity with 11 deals. This was one more than Asda, while Sainsbury’s and Tesco both had eight offers and Waitrose just five.

All bar one of Tesco’s deals were either meal deals or multibuys only available to its loyalty card holders. This meant Clubcard Prices had very little impact on Tesco’s total this week. In fact it would have saved just 24p, taking its overall bill down to £71.54 – still £4.50 more expensive than Asda.

Tesco offered the lowest price for 13 products and was exclusively cheapest for the Twirls, Fanta Zero and Frosties.

Waitrose was exclusively cheapest for the Tuc crackers but this did little for its overall competitiveness. It only matched the lowest price for three other products. The upmarket retailer came in £17.25 dearer than Asda at £84.29.

^{The Grocer 33 is conducted in association with Assosia using its Price & Promotion Platform, which provides real-time analytics and powerful insights across all categories in grocery retail, based on online and in-store data. Already trusted by leading retailers and manufacturers, contact Assosia for a free demo Web www.assosia.com. Tel: 0345 880 2700 Email: services@assosia.com}