Asda kicked off 2026 with another cheapest basket in the Grocer 33 price comparison survey. Our dry January health-conscious basket cost £68.40 at Asda, some 2.7% less than its nearest rival.
Asda was cheaper on 16 products and exclusively so for 12, including Shloer, wholemeal wraps and Flash bathroom cleaning spray.
After a decline in sales over Christmas [NIQ; Worldpanel], Asda’s strategy seems geared towards driving volumes. With 17 deals, more than half its basket was on promotion, including eight multibuys. When those are factored in, Asda is at least 6.1% cheaper than full-service supermarket rivals.
Sainsbury’s took second place with £70.29 thanks to a Nectar promotion on Vitabiotics Wellman tablets, the most expensive item in this week’s basket. It also sold the cheapest chicken breast and apples, and had the deepest discounts, with £9.90 off for Nectar members.
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While noisier on value, with the launch of its new Everyday Low prices campaign this week, Tesco came in third. Asda was 3.8% cheaper. Tesco’s £71.09 basket had six exclusively cheapest items including the vegetable lasagne, cranberry juice and McGuigan Zero.
Asda was 6.9% cheaper than Morrisons (£73.50). The Bradford-based grocer had the shallowest discounts, but they gave it the edge on Canderel sweetener, Genius crumpets and Warburtons thin bagels.
Waitrose was off the pace and had the biggest annual increase (4.2%), widening the gap to its full-range rivals. Asda was 16.7% cheaper, with Waitrose only cheapest for one item, the Snack a Jacks ricecakes.
Cholula hot sauce showed the biggest year-on-year price rise. A bottle cost an average of £2.38, up 22% on last year. Ocean Spray cranberry juice is 18% cheaper, thanks to new year promotions.
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