We shopped at supermarket taking on Aldi and Lidl but found it cost more

Asda is taking on the budget supermarkets and says it will check the prices of comparable products in store twice a week and match whichever has the cheapest price.

Asda is promising to take on the budget supermarkets, and with everyone always wanting to try and save a bit of money where they can, they have laid down the gauntlet to their rivals.

The supermarket has claimed to come up trumps with its Aldi and Lidl Price Match Scheme. The supermarket giant says it will check the prices of comparable products in store twice a week and match whichever has the cheapest price.

The list of price match products is currently just shy of 290, with the prices of those reduced by an average of 17 per cent. The list includes staples such as milk, bread, cheese as well as non-essentials including chocolate and biscuits.

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Sounds great right? But Aldi and Lidl both claim the scheme is nothing but a "gimmick" and the full list of products being reduced amounts to less than one per cent of Asda's overall range. And when a reporter from our sister title the Manchester Evening Newsdid a price comparison shop at Asda against one she did in Aldi and Lidl in September to see how much it is charging for the same products, she found that the Asda shop was still the most expensive.

By repeating the shop from September, it gave us a random selection of products to compare, rather than looking specifically at whether products have or haven't been included in the price match.

While some prices were the same at all three stores in this week's shop - nine in fact - it was still Aldi and Lidl that came out cheaper, with respective shopping bills of £43.66 and £43.80, compared with Asda's £48.57. That's a difference of around 11%.

The shopping includes a couple of Asda's Just Essentials products, such as the pizza and rice, but I mainly opted for Asda own brand as that makes for a truer quality comparison against the others.

Asda does sell cheaper sausages for example, but the Just Essentials pack, costing £1.50, contain just 51% pork, whereas the standard brand - and those in Aldi and Lidl - are 72%. It says its price match will run alongside Asda’s already-existing offers, including Price Drop and Asda Rewards.

Anything bringing prices down for customers has to be a good thing. But a scheme like this won't have enough of an impact unless it's extended to include hundreds more products. I'm afraid when it's up against the budget big boys, it doesn't really stand a chance.

Product prices Lidl / Aldi / Asda

• Carrots 65p (1kg) (equates to 33p for 500g) / 33p (500g) / 35p (500g)
• Potatoes (Maris Piper) 2.5kg £1.75 / 2kg £1.39 (equates to £1.75 for 2kg) / 2.5kg £1.75
• Red grapes 500g £1.69 / 500g £1.69 / 375g £1.30 (equates to £1.73 per 500g)
• Beef mince 5% fat 500g £3.49 / £3.49 / £3.49
• Pork sausages 8-pack £1.89 / £1.89 / £2.25
• Unsmoked bacon 300g £1.89 / £1.89 / £2.25
• Chicken breast fillet 650g £4.49 / £4.49 / £4.70 for 600g (equates to £5.09 for 650g)
• Cheese and tomato pizza 300g 99p / 99p / 99p
• Butter 250g £1.69 / £1.69 / £1.69
• Mature cheddar cheese 400g £2.49 / £2.49 / £3
• Milk 2 pints £1.20 / £1.20 / £1.20
• Orange juice smooth 1.75L £2.19 / £2.19 / £2.60
• Large free range eggs 12-pack £2.69 / £2.69 / £2.95
• Rice 1kg 52p / 52p / 52p
• Pasta 1kg £1.39 / £1.39 / £1.39
• Malt Wheaties 625g 79p / 625g 79p / 750g £1.10 (equates to 92p for 625g)
• Custard 500g 75p / 75p / 85p
• Chocolate digestives 300g 77p / 77p / 85p
• Hovis thick white £1.39 / £1.39 / £1.39
• Oven bottom muffins 4-pack 62p / 62p / £1 for 6 (equates to 66p for pack of 4)
• Chocolate chip brioche 8-pack £1.09 / £1.09 / £1.10
• Chicken soup 400g 67p / 67p / 75p
• Tomato soup 400g 67p / 67p / 75p
• Baked beans 45p (420g) / (410g) 45p / (410g) 50p
• Skin on fries £1.39 (750g) / £1.85 (1kg) (works out at £1.39 for 750g) / £1.40 (750g)
• Tortilla chips 200g 89p / 200g 89p / 180g £1 (equates to £1.11 for 200g)
• Vegetable oil 1L £1.85 / £1.85 / £1.85
• Bleach 750ml 60p / 60p / 70p
• Wipes 72-pack 99p / 72-pack 99p / 60-pack £1 (equates to £1.20 for 72)
• Toilet roll 9-pack £2.19 / £2.05 / £3.29

Total Lidl £43.80 / Aldi £43.66 / Asda £48.57

Aldi says the fact Asda is having to drop prices by an average of 17 per cent "shows that the savings customers can make by getting Aldi prices on all their shopping is significant."

Lidl says that while it may promise a price match, the terms and conditions in Asda's scheme do not guarantee a quality march, only stipulating that they "take into account any reasonable size or weight difference through applying a pro-rata unit price based on Asda's product."

Announcing the price match, David Hills, Asda’s chief customer officer, said: “Asda has over 50 years heritage as the customer champion, and we understand we have an important role to play in local communities to help families get the most from their budgets. We have launched Aldi and Lidl Price Match to help them save both time and money.

"Our customers can trust that they will get uncompromising value every day at Asda and George – on everything from food and clothing to homeware and Cashpot rewards, as well as the lowest prices on supermarket fuel. And because we know their time is as stretched as their budget, we’re making shopping with us as easy as possible – whether that’s in our large stores, our growing Asda Express convenience stores or online.”

An Aldi spokesperson said: “Customers aren’t fooled by gimmicks and know the only place you get Aldi prices is at Aldi, which is why millions of shoppers have switched from the traditional full-price supermarkets to us.

“We’re proud to have now been named the UK’s Cheapest Supermarket by Which? for three years running and our promise to our customers is that they will always make significant savings every time they shop with Aldi.”

A spokesperson for Lidl said: "Giving all households access to great food at the lowest prices is a commitment we have kept for almost 30 years now. This commitment not only applies to our full range of products, but to every single Lidl store across the country too."

Responding to the comparison shop, Asda stressed that the initiative does not mean it is matching every price at Aldi and Lidl, but around 300 'comparable staples that we know our customers buy most'. It says that works out at around 10% of the budget retailers' overall products.

It says there are other 'comparable products' the MEN could have chosen, such as Asda's 1kg bag of carrots, which has been reduced to 65p. Or its 650g pack of chicken breast mini fillets, reduced by £1.08, from £5.40 to £4.32 under the new offer.

It also pointed out some Just Essentials products that could have been included, such as beans and toilet rolls, which would have shown that Asda's beans for example match the price of Aldi's Everyday Essentials beans and Lidl's Simply range.

An Asda spokesperson said: "The Aldi and Lidl price match covers circa 300 products that our customers buy the most including basket staples like milk, bread, cheese, fresh meat and fresh fruit & veg. Of the 30 products that the Manchester Evening News have included in this comparison, we have identified 21 comparable alternatives that are currently price matched to Aldi or Lidl, whichever is cheaper.

“By price matching on these core products, we’re giving customers the reassurance they will pay the lowest prices, whilst also getting the added benefits of shopping at Asda rather than the discounters - such as the household brands they love, great fashion and homeware from George, cash rewards through the Asda Rewards app and the best value supermarket fuel.”