Inflation is about to hit hard in Australia – in America it’s raging at 7.5 per cent and in Europe it is over 5 per cent.
The price of vegetables has increased by 6.1 per cent and petrol has gone up 32.3 per cent. And that’s just the beginning.
The Reserve Bank is expected to announce its first lift in official interest rates in more than 11 years as soon as the hustings are over and the new government has been announced. The cash rate is expected to reach 2.5 per cent.
Wages, of course, won’t be rising as much – even with the skills shortage.
So that means most of us will need to find savings if we are to pay higher rates or service bigger loan repayments.
So Really Simple Money set out to find out how you can save at inflation’s front line: the supermarket.
Since Aldi, the discount supermarket chain, joined the Australian market, they have regularly beaten out Coles and Woolworths for the cost of groceries.
Are they still winning? We went to Aldi, Coles and Woolworths and compared how much you could save.
Our shopping list included:
- Ice cream
- Milk
- Chicken breast fillets
- Corn cobs
- Winter vegetables
- Toilet paper
- Coffee capsules
- Frozen blueberries
- Nappies
- Laundry powder
- Eggs
- Frozen peas
- Dishwashing liquid
- Olive spread
Here is how they stacked up:
Coles
Coles charges the exact same price as Woolworths does for food such as Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, two litre milk, frozen corn cobs and frozen winter vegetables. Coles charges slightly more for chicken breast fillets with a price difference of $1.25. Eggs also cost slightly more, with a 50cent difference at Coles. Laundry powder was less. We managed to buy it at Coles for just $5.50 which was $2.50 cheaper than Woolworths.
- Ben & Jerry’s Topped Choc Caramel Cookie Dough 438ml $9.00
- Coles two litre milk $2.60
- Coles Free Range RSPCA Approved Chicken Breast Fillet Large Park 1.25kg $16.25
- Coles Frozen Corn Cobs 1kg $2.70
- Birds Eye Snap Frozen Winter Vegetables 1k $5.50
- Coles So Soft 3 ply Recycled Toilet Tissue 12 pack $6.00
- Coles Urban Coffee Culture Capsules 16 pack $6.50
- Coles Frozen Fruit Blueberries 500g $5.80
- Huggies Newborn Nappies 54 pack $18.00
- Coles Laundry Powder Tropical Paradise Top and Front 2kg $5.50
- Coles Free Range Jumbo Eggs 12 pack 800g $5.00
- Coles Frozen Peas 1kg $2.20
- Coles Dishwashing Liquid Lemon 1 litre $1.20
- Coles Dairy Olive Oil Spread 500g $2.80
TOTAL: $89.05
Woolworths
Some items at Woolworths were cheaper than the other supermarkets. If you wanted basic items like toilet paper, winter vegetables and dishwashing liquid then Woolworths was the cheapest. Kitchen staples like milk, dishwashing liquid, nappies and ice cream were exactly the same price at both Woolworths and Coles with both of the major players selling private label products. Other products like toilet paper was cheaper at Woolworths than at Coles.
- Ben & Jerry’s Topped Choc Caramel Cookie Dough 438ml $9.00
- Woolworths Drought Relief Milk 2 litre $2.60
- Woolworths RSPCA Chicken Breast Fillet 1kg-1.5kg $15.00
- Woolworths Corn Cobs Australia 1kg $2.70
- Woolworths Winter Veg Mix 1kg $3.30
- Vevelle 2 Ply White Toilet Tissue 12 Pack $3.65
- Nescafe Dolce Gusto Coffee Pods 16 pack $9.00
- Woolworths Frozen Blueberries 500g $5.80
- Huggies Newborn Nappies 54 pack $18.00
- Fab Essential Oils Laundry Detergent Powder Japan 1.8kg $8.00
- Woolworths 12 Extra Large Free Range Eggs 700g $4.50
- Essentials Frozen Peas 1kg $2.20
- Essentials Dishwashing Liquid 1 litre $1.20
- Woolworths Spread Olive Oil 500g $2.80
TOTAL: $87.75
Aldi
Ice cream lovers can take advantage of cheaper ice cream at Aldi. Instead of costing $9.00 we only paid $5.99 for Kenny’s Frozen Dessert 475ml. A kilo of chicken breast fillets has a price of $11.49. Most of the items on our shopping list were much cheaper at Aldi with the only exception being Tandi Ultra Dishwashing Liquid (450ml) which was $1.79 compared to $1.20 at Coles and Woolworths. Nappies were significantly cheaper with a pack of Mamia Unisex Infant Nappies costing $10.99 for a 56 pack.
- Kenny’s Frozen Dessert 475ml $5.99
- Farmdale Milk UHT 2 litre $2.59
- Willowton Free Range Chicken Breast Fillets 1kg $11.49
- Market Fare Corn Cobs 1kg $2.69
- Market Fare Winter Vegetables 1kg $2.99
- Confidence Toilet Tissue Hypoallergenic 4 ply 8 pack $4.69
- Expressi Capsule Coffee 16 pack $6.99
- Orchard & Vine Blueberries 500g $4.99
- Mamia Unisex Infant Nappies 4-8kg 56 pack $10.99
- Almat Laundry Powder Concentrate 2kg $4.99
- Lodge Farms Extra Large Free Range Eggs 12 pack/700g $3.99
- Market Fare Garden Peas 1kg $2.09
- Tandi Ultra Dishwashing Liquid 450ml $1.79
- Sunnyvale Original Spread 500g $1.99
TOTAL: $68.26
The verdict
Coles and Woolworths have similar pricing with them appearing to price match on many common household items. Rather than paying extra for the household brand name you will find that they have their own private label for most of their range. The most expensive supermarket was Coles, which came in at $89.05, Woolworths was slightly cheaper at $87.75.
There was a clear winner on who the cheapest supermarket was, with Aldi coming in at only $68.26 for the same items. That’s 23.3% cheaper than Coles and 22.2% cheaper than Woolworths.