Which supermarket offers the cheapest prices for your weekly grocery shop? Aldi might still be the frontrunner in terms of product cost, but for the first time in years, the gap between Woolworths, Coles and Aldi is growing smaller.
According to Credit Suisse, Woolworths can now legitimately claim that their groceries are cheaper than Coles’. A survey that compared baskets of 110 packaged groceries, fresh food items and produce from Coles and Woolworths found a $13 difference between the two.
While the basket at Coles cost $586 the identical basket at Woolworths came in at $573. Aldi, in comparison, offered an equivalent basket for $465. Six months ago, the Woolworths basket was six per cent more expensive than Coles and 38 per cent more expensive than Aldi – rather than 23 per cent today. Woolworths is now closest in price to Aldi that it has ever been.
“It’s an important milestone for Woolworths. They’ve recognised that pricing needs to improve … and it does appear to be becoming more price competitive to Coles on different metrics,” said Credit Suisse analyst Grant Saligari.
Both supermarkets have invested $1 billion into efforts to drop prices, maintain their $90-million market share and entice shoppers away from Aldi – which has been growing in dominance since its arrival in Australia in 2000.
Earlier in May, Woolworths announced its intention to invest $150 million into promotions, everyday shelf prices and service, after recording negative sales growth for the fourth consecutive quarter.
Aldi, in the meanwhile, seems to be having no trouble being assimilated into the Australian shopping culture. It has been opening between 25 and 30 stores every year on the east coast since 2000, with 17 new stores already opened this year.
While the rapidly expanding Aldi has about 410 stores, it is still behind Coles and Woolworths, which have one store for every 56,000 Australians.
Read more at smh.com.au.
What influences your decision to shop at a particular supermarket? Price, convenience, loyalty rewards? Do the findings of the Credit Suisse report have any bearing on where you will now shop?
