Aldi has been rated Australia’s best supermarket for the fifth year in row as families look for more frugal options to combat the soaring cost of living.
German-owned Aldi was only the major chain to gather five stars for overall satisfaction in a survey of 2,500 shoppers by consumer comparison website Canstar Blue.
Sector giants Woolworths and Coles both scored four stars and the independently owned IGA, three.
Aldi is Australia’s favourite supermarket, according to a survey of 2,500 shoppers
Aldi was also the only supermarket to get five stars in the value-for-money category with Woolworths and Coles both getting four and IGA three.
Canstar Blue editor-in-chief Christine Seib told Daily Mail Australia the result reflecting Aldi’s strong identity.
‘Aldi is known for its winning products and comparatively low prices,’ Ms Seib told Daily Mail Australia.
The full survey ranking of supermarkets
‘So it’s not surprising Aussie consumers have rated it the best supermarket, with five stars for the quality of its fresh food and own-branded products, as well as for value for money and deals and specials. ‘
‘Plus, it was the only supermarket to achieve five stars from shoppers for all-important customer satisfaction.’
With soaring inflation causing pain at the checkout counters, Ms Seib said families were very conscious of trying to get bang for their buck.
‘Our research results indicated that getting value for money was an important factor for shoppers in 2022,’ she said.
Woolworths claimed five-star ratings for its variety of products as well as store layout and presentation
‘Sixty five per cent told us they pay attention to the specials available at the supermarkets, a third switch between supermarkets to maximise savings on specials and a quarter have swapped to supermarket-brand products to cut their spending.’
‘Of those that switched their shopping to a new supermarket in the past year, more than half said they did so to save money.’
The four chains were also rated on customer service, freshness of produce, quality of supermarket-owned branded products, variety of products as well as deals and specials.
Australians on average $152 a week on groceries, the Canstar Blue survey found
Aldi scored five stars in all categories except customer service and variety of products where they got three.
IGA got its only five-star rating in customer service, while Woolworths claimed top marks in variety of products as well as store layout and presentation and rated a solid four in all other areas.
Coles scored four stars in every category except freshness of produce where they got three, a category IGA got their only four in while getting threes otherwise.
The survey of 1,900 households found the average amount Australians spend on groceries a week is $152, which amounts to $608 a month or $7,296 a year.
A comparison of the average weekly spend on shopping by state
Perhaps surprisingly giving rising inflation, which has run at 5.9 per cent this year, that figure is $1 lower than the last survey.
This might indicate that shoppers are pulling back on their grocery spending, especially with interest rates and other costs rising.
A Canstar survey in March 2022 indicated that shoppers were cutting back on non-essentials.
‘With nearly two-thirds of Australian shoppers noticing their grocery bill rising, many are now compensating for higher grocery prices by buying only necessities,’ Ms Seib said at the time.
Independently owned IGA scored top marks for its customer service but didn’t fare so well otherwise
The $152 weekly amount indicates shopping for two to three people, with singles spending $104 a week on average and that amount going up by $40 to $50 for every extra person in a household.
The average amount spent on a weekly grocery shop by the number of people in a household
Western Australia was the cheapest state to do an average weekly shop in with the bill coming to $142 with Victoria coming in at $147.
NSW and the ACT were tied at $151, while in SA it cost $153 with Tasmania just edging out Queensland as the most expensive place to shop at $160 and $159 respectively.
Spending on groceries increased as household incomes climbed but not by huge increments.
The average amounts spent on groceries each week according to household income
Those on less than $30,000 a year spent $123 a week while those bringing in $120,000 only spent a bit over $50 more with a bill of $179.
In reassuring news for the absent-minded and disorganised a quarter of shoppers said they still forgot to bring their own bags when shopping despite most supermarkets now charging for bags.
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