When it comes to shopping, every penny counts. At a time when the purchasing power of the French is impacted by inflation, here is the supermarket in which groceries cost the least.
Which supermarket saves the most at checkout? How do you know where to shop to pay a little less? These are the questions that consumers are asking. With the breakthrough of inflation, the French are more and more fond of good plans to save money, especially with their shopping basket. That’s why many have turned to supermarket subscriptions, which offer an effective way to get benefits. However, without the need to subscribe, sometimes all you need to do is go to the right store to find certain products at a lower price.
Each year, the association UFC-What to choose reveals the ranking of supermarkets with the lowest prices. Thus, from September 11 to 25, 2021, the association’s investigators classified the 1,006 stores in the metropolis belonging to the 8 main brands, by noting the prices on the drive-through sites. 98 products fromAuchan, E.Leclerc, Intermarché, Casino, Cora, Carrefour, System U, Colryut were tested such as sweet groceries, savory groceries, beverages, frozen foods, hygiene, dairy products and fresh non-dairy products.
Supermarkets where you can save money
Between each brand, the price of a basket with these 98 products can vary by 60 euros, reveals the association. Among the 8 major brands, the one that seems to be doing well and offering the cheapest products is none other than E.Leclerc. According to the consumer association, leaving the stores run by Michel-Edouard Leclerc, your shopping cart costs you 348 euros, when at Intermarché it is 356 euros, System U at 365 euros. In contrast, the highest rates would be at Casino with a shopping basket at 408 euros, or 17% more than E.Leclerc.
A ranking that is reflected on the shelves: E.Leclerc is the cheapest when it comes to dairy products, drinks, frozen foods, savory and sweet groceries. On the other hand, it is on a par with Colruyt in the hygiene and frozen sections and closely followed by Intermarché for everything else, details UFC-Que Choisir.
Also note that from one point of sale to another, prices change. Thus, a difference of 19 euros was observed from one Cora store to another for the same items. At Casino and Carrefour the difference explodes with a respective difference of 107 and 101 euros.
How to choose the right supermarket to pay less?
When you want to save money you have to think big, especially in the area of the store. Indeed, the larger the place where you shop, the more likely you are to find products cheaper than elsewhere. The same goes for brands that compete for their customers in the same street, for example. Two supermarkets will limit their prices to attract their regulars and try to recover that of the competition; while a single store will be able to charge the prices they want without the customer having a comparison at hand.
Another important point to know when you want to pay less for your shopping cart: choose your supermarket according to the prices it charges on YOUR favorite products of everyday life and not on shelves you don’t need.
And if you are looking for bargains at all costs, you can turn to hard discount stores. Lidl, Netto, Aldi, Normal, Supeco (Carrefour’s low-cost, editor’s note)… In recent years, these brands that cut prices have won a place of choice in the lives of the French. Their claim: to make their store a warehouse in which prices are revised downwards. A technique that pays off. Today, Lidl and Aldi hold 10% of the consumer market share.