Asda no longer Britain's cheapest big supermarket after two years at the helm

The same shop at Asda cost £590.41, making Tesco £1.45 cheaper for loyalty scheme users.

The findings are based on Which?’s monthly analysis of supermarket prices across the UK. The consumer group tracks the cost of a standard basket of popular groceries at the country’s biggest retailers.

The comparison also highlighted the growing impact of loyalty pricing on household food bills. Asda’s prices are available to all customers without a membership scheme, while Tesco’s lowest prices apply only to Clubcard holders.

Without a Clubcard, Tesco customers would have paid £641.09 for the same 228 item shop, £52.13 more than the Clubcard price.

Asda had topped the Which? big shop rankings throughout 2025 until the latest comparison, marking a notable shift for families seeking the lowest prices on a full trolley of groceries.

Which?’s big shop basket includes a mix of branded items and own brand essentials.

Branded products include Birds Eye peas, Hovis bread, Cathedral City cheddar and Hellmann’s mayonnaise, while own brand items include milk, butter, potatoes and baked beans.

Among other supermarkets, Sainsbury’s recorded an average price of £603.55 for Nectar card holders, rising to £659.85 without a Nectar card.

Morrisons charged £612.88 for shoppers using its More Card and £613.74 for those without one, meaning its loyalty discount was relatively small.

Ocado’s average price for the 228 item shop was £634.68. Waitrose was the most expensive supermarket in the comparison at £679.20, £90.24 more than Tesco’s Clubcard price, equivalent to around 15 per cent extra on the total bill.

Which? also compared prices for smaller shops. For a basket of 89 items, Aldi was the cheapest supermarket at £164.74 across January. Lidl was second cheapest, charging £166.33 for Lidl Plus members and £166.53 for non members, £1.79 more than Aldi.

Aldi and Lidl are not included in the big shop comparison because they stock a narrower range of products.

Reena Sewraz, retail editor at Which?, said: “While Aldi is the cheapest supermarket this month, the ongoing price competition among the discounters means Lidl also remains a strong money saving choice for many shoppers.”

She added choosing one supermarket over another could save households hundreds of pounds a year.

Asda defended its pricing record following the latest comparison.

A spokesman said, “Asda was the lowest priced supermarket every month in 2025 on the Which? big trolley comparison, and £50 cheaper in January on a like for like basket without loyalty pricing.”

Tesco pointed to its wider value offering, highlighting its Aldi Price Match range, Clubcard Prices and Everyday Low Prices.

Separate data pointed to a slowdown in grocery price inflation. Figures from market research firm Worldpanel by Numerator showed inflation fell to four per cent in January, down from 4.3 per cent in December, the lowest level since April 2025.

The figures also showed shoppers increasingly turning to promotions, with spending on promotional items rising by 10.9 per cent compared with last year, the fastest growth since October 2024.

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