The cost-of-living is biting, nowhere more so than at the supermarket. But with limited supermarket options in Australia, where should you go if you’re looking for the cheapest groceries?
Well, if the results of this CHOICE investigation are anything to go by – you should ditch the two major supermarkets and head to Aldi.
Why Aldi?
CHOICE has released its first quarterly, government-funded report on supermarket prices across Australia. They sent 81 mystery shoppers to 81 regional and metropolitan supermarkets across the country, including Aldi, Woolworths, and Coles, to record prices for a basket of common grocery items.
There were 14 items in the basket, which consisted of: apples, carrots, Weet-Bix, sliced white bread, flour, penne pasta, white sugar, tea bags, tinned diced tomatoes, a block of tasty cheese, full-cream dairy milk, frozen peas, beef mince and butter.
CHOICE says mystery shops were completed at IGA where there were no Aldi supermarkets to compete with Coles and Woolworths. They recorded regular prices as well as special prices and supermarket locations were chosen to give good coverage of socio-economic status.
Overall, the CHOICE investigation found the basket was around 25 per cent cheaper at Aldi than at either Coles or Woolworths. Ashley de Silva, CHOICE CEO, says Aldi was the big winner, with very little separating the majors.
“Aldi was the clear leader on value for money in our first supermarket basket survey for 2024, with our basket of 14 products costing just $51.51 – coming in at about 25% cheaper than Coles or Woolworths,” he says.
“Grocery prices at Coles and Woolworths are very closely matched, with only 75 cents separating the prices of our basket of 14 items without specials. Coles was the most expensive at $69.33, while the basket at Woolworths came in at $68.58.”
Where you buy matters
The investigation also found where you live can have a huge impact on the prices you pay at the supermarket – especially if you’re living in Tasmania or the Northern Territory.
“When we looked at the average cost of our supermarket baskets in each state we found that if you live in Tasmania or the Northern Territory, you’re paying significantly more each week for your groceries.
“This is mainly due to the fact that these areas have more limited options for shopping than the rest of the country, with no Aldi in Tassie or the NT.”
“Outside of the NT and Tasmania, Western Australians are paying the most on average for their groceries – around a dollar more for this basket of items than people in other parts of the country pay,” says de Silva.
Next check-in
CHOICE says it will be conducting the same supermarket price research every quarter for the next three years, helping people to stay on top of where they can find the cheapest groceries.
“We look forward to providing consumers across the country with clear, reliable information about supermarket prices. This kind of transparency is more important than ever as the cost-of-living crisis continues, and prices of basic grocery items climb,” says de Silva.
Do you shop at Aldi? What supermarket options do you have near you? Let us know in the comments section below.
Aldi has it’s place in the market but apart from staples and cleaning products IMO you can’t compare like for like with Coles and Woolies for most things that would be in an average trolley. I’m not a fan for their meat, cheese, and canned goods. Their cleaning product are excellent and staples like flour, sugar, milk, butter is the same as anywhere else too. The biggest problem is that there aren’t enough big supermarkets in the in the Australian market. This is probably mainly due to the spread of population over such a vast area but as you don’t see Coles and Woolies much further thatn major cities and regional hubs I think this is a false excuse and Australia definately needs one or two extra big supermarket chains to keep the current two giants honest otherwise despite royal commisions and best endeavours by regulators we will always be ripped off, much like Qantas etc.
I’m with you, I’m not a big fan of Aldi either. Where I live, I’ve found they’re not that different in price from the other 2 plus I’d rather keep any profits in Australia
Aldi is cheaper but they don’t deliver. I’m older, have chronic medical conditions. I can carry approximately 1 litre of milk. So I get groceries delivered fortnightly. Also, when I go into Aldi, I can’t find things and they don’t have a full range. Plus, my particular Aldi doesn’t have enough checkouts open (family in a different part of town tells me it Better in theirs). Consequently, I can be in a queue, knowing my bus comes soon, while I wait, and wait … then they might close the checkout even though there’s a queue. I do go in occasionally, but it will never be my first port of call.
That is OK if one does not need to drive 1/2 an hour to get to a store.