The outside of Aldi supermarket at night
Sainsbury’s is the first supermarket to price-match Aldi in its smaller stores (Picture: Getty Images)

Aldi continues to be the UK’s cheapest supermarket month after month, but it seems Sainsbury’s is about to give it a run for its money.

The retailer has said it will match the price of up to 200 Aldi products in its smaller stores – the first time any supermarket convenience store has made such a promise.

It means you no longer have to avoid your Sainsbury’s Local for fear of an expensive grocery shop.

Cheaper items will include staples including milk, bread, butter, chicken, pasta and vegetables.

This is available for all customers in more than 1,400 shops, regardless of whether they’re shopping in-store or online.

Sainsbury's worker stacking the Aldi Price Match items on supermarket shelves
Sainsbury’s has become the first UK grocer to extend Aldi Price Match into convenience stores (Picture: David Parry)

It’s brilliant news for shoppers after Circana, a consumer behaviour company, found shoppers are currently paying an average of 10% more for the same item in convenience stores than main supermarkets.

Which? has also long campaigned on the issue of price disparity, finding that shopping at a convenience store versus a supermarket could tack on an extra £800 to your food bill for the year.

Affordable Aldi price-matched goods you’ll be able to find in your Sainsbury’s Local include:

  • Sainsbury’s Baked Beans in Tomato Sauce 400g – 40p
  • Sainsbury’s Chopped Tomatoes Can 400g – 47p
  • Sainsbury’s Tuna Chunks in Spring Water 145g – 65p
  • Sainsbury’s British Fresh Chicken Breast Fillets Skinless & Boneless 640g – £4.42
  • Sainsbury’s 21 Day Matured Rump Steak 225g – £3.38
  • Sainsbury’s British Semi Skimmed Milk 2.27L (4 pint) – £1.45
  • Kingsmill 50/50 Medium 800g – £1.30

This move will replace the supermarket’s Pocket Friendly Prices campaign that was introduced last year, just in time for the Christmas rush.

Sainsbury’s chief executive, Simon Roberts, said: ‘Since setting out to put food back at the heart of our business four years ago, we’ve invested nearly £1 billion in value. Our Next Level Sainsbury’s strategy is about giving customers more of what they come to Sainsbury’s for – outstanding value, unbeatable quality food and great service.

‘In our Sainsbury’s Locals, we’ve worked hard to offer market leading prices on essential items and popular breakfast, lunch and dinner staples. We have also refreshed our Local store layouts and rebalanced space, increasing the number of products in store by 7% and adding more food on the move products.

‘With Christmas just around the corner, we know that every penny counts and we are committed to helping our customers make the most of the festive season.’

Sainsbury's Local supermarket in London
Sainsbury’s Local will have nearly 200 Aldi Price Match products to choose from but you can’t use your Nectar card (Picture: Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Be mindful though that the supermarket’s Nectar loyalty card scheme will not be coming to convenience stores.

Other supermarkets have been previously caught out in their bids to match Aldi’s prices. BBC Panorama found that some of Tesco’s price-matched products were not like-for-like with the German supermarket giant.

Take Tesco’s chicken nuggets, which contained 39% chicken compared to the 60% chicken from its competitor.

Aldi has also held the title of the UK’s favourite supermarket since July 2023 with other supermarkets striving to match its success and low prices.

In response to Sainsbury’s’ cost-cutting efforts, an Aldi spokesperson said: ‘Our promise to customers is that they will make significant savings every time they shop with Aldi, which is why we’ve been named Which? Cheapest Supermarket of the Year for three years running.

‘Which? has also named Aldi the UK’s Cheapest Supermarket every month this year, even in its latest analysis including loyalty prices.’

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