Choice finds Aldi cheaper than Coles, Woolworths – on 14 grocery items
The average full-size Australian supermarket stocks around 20,000 SKUs – but by shopping for just 14 items, Choice has concluded that Aldi’s grocery prices are 25 per cent less than those of the two major players.
As part of the study, the consumer lobby group sent mystery shoppers to 81 regional and metropolitan supermarkets nationwide, including Aldi, Woolworths, and Coles, to record prices of 14 grocery items, namely:
- Apples
- Carrots
- Weet-Bix
- Sliced white bread
- Flour
- Penne
- White sugar
- Tea bags
- Tinned diced tomatoes
- Block of tasty cheese
- Full-cream dairy milk
- Frozen peas
- Beef mince
- Butter
“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 per cent cheaper than Coles or Woolworths,” said Ashley de Silva, CEO, Choice, who also noted that prices at Coles and Woolworths were close.
“Coles was the most expensive at $69.33, while the basket at Woolworths was $68.58,” said de Silva.
The size of the basket of groceries used for the ‘survey’ represented a fraction of the amount typical Australians would spend on a weekly grocery shop – let alone the item count.
According to data from Finder, the average Australian household spends $188 weekly at the supermarket and last year, Australians collectively spent $14.18 billion on groceries, on average paying $532.20 per person each month.
Meanwhile, the Choice study found that grocery pricing varies by location. Consumers in Tasmania or the Northern Territory paid more than those in other regions.
Similarly, shoppers in Western Australia paid over a dollar extra for their baskets compared to other regions.
“This is mainly due to the fact that these areas have fewer shopping options than the rest of the country, with no Aldi in Tassie or the NT,” explained de Silva. Inside FMCG notes that those states are typically located further from manufacturing plants and mainstream supply chain routes as well.
The federal government granted Choice $1.1 million to conduct a quarterly analyses of supermarket pricing for the next three years. This is the first of the quarterly reports to be released.
“We are committed to providing consumers across the country with clear, reliable information about supermarket prices,” De Silva concluded.
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