That Choice survey

"When you have limited financial means you can only buy items you need. You have to shop by necessity and this means you may not be getting the best deal." Chelsea White/Global Citizen

We all know about that recent Choice survey of the supermarkets, that came out strongly for Aldi. Having done a similar thing back in April 2023 - Is Aldi really cheaper than the other two? and having found that Aldi was indeed a bit cheaper - by about $7.00 this was largely due to their cleaning products, for some reason were considerably cheaper - I was marginally cynical about Choice's results, and so I did my own check again. So forgive me if some of what I am about to write is repeating myself.

The results this time - First of all from Choice - Aldi - $51.51; Coles - $69.33; Woolworths, 68.58

From me - Aldi - $54.70; Coles $61.70; Woolworths $59.70

And just to emphasise the fact that the price of food has risen enormously, back then in April 2023 - just over a year ago the results were - Aldi $33.36 Coles $33.10 Woolworths $38.00. Now it wasn't the same list of items - it was one I composed myself, but still it is indeed alarming.

Before I launch into a more detailed look at each product and what I bought, let me first say, that worthy though such a survey is it really doesn't have much meaning for those on the breadline and just above it. Some of the obvious strategies of saving money when shopping for food just do not apply if you have to count every penny. We all know those strategies:

Buying in bulk - for example a 2kg bag of flour will cost you less per kg. than a 1kg bag - and here let me give a big shout out to whichever government it was that brought in that compulsory display of unit prices on the shelf labels - for example, what 100g of that flour costs. It slows you down and you need glasses but it's a valuable check. It also occasionally surprises when you find the smaller bottle or bag or tin is actually cheaper per unit than the large one.

Buying specials - sometimes a bit deceptive but nevertheless if it's something you buy all the time then you probably know when it is indeed a special price. And then buy up big on those too.

Both of those strategies not only require more outlay but they also require you to have storage space at home.

Buy the seconds in the fruit and veg section - the Odd Bunch and I'm Perfect brands in Woolworths and Coles respectively. Part of the deal here, however, is that, once again you are buying in bulk.

Buy home-brand Not much argument there unless you care about quality and/or where it comes from, etc. etc. Not that poor quality necessarily goes hand in hand with home brand products. All Aldi brands are home-brands and the quality is generally pretty good.

If you are very poor, then you simply have to buy what you need now at that moment, which will probably mean you are paying more than you could if you had more money and more space. You won't buy a 2kg pack of mince - you will buy the cheapest pack on the shelf, which per kg costs more.

Which brings me to how Choice chose what to buy. I have absolutely no quarrel with their choice of what went into the baskets - 14 everyday items - exclusively food. Their report is online and you will find the list there - but I'm going to go through it in a moment anyway.

My, possibly incorrect, objections are to how they selected the brands to compare. For all my above qualifications about it all being useless for the very poor, I guess to be fair the exercise was for the average household, who do have storage space, and can afford to do all those price-saving things listed above. When I compiled my list therefore I bought the products with the cheapest per unit price - the 2kg bags of flour, the I'm Perfect apples, and so on. I do not know whether Choice did this. They did not really say. So because I do not know their detailed choices I cannot really say that my survey is a fair comparison. It does have slightly different results though - more in the gaps in price than the overall effect.

Choice has a more general page titled: How we survey supermarket prices some of which is repeated in their June report. The picture shows one of their actual baskets - I think it's the Aldi one, but it includes Lipton and Weetbix - and to be fair - in those instances they were indeed comparing like with like - same product, same size, same quality:

"In order to make the most accurate comparisons, many of the products in our shop come from national brands (such as CSR, Sanitarium and Lipton), which are sold in most, if not all, major supermarket chains. Selection of the products for each basket item is based on wide availability, and the closest comparable items are selected when these are not available."

That's not relevant to someone trying to save money however. I thought it was particularly important to buy home brand items where possible because that's what Aldi products are. I particularly abhor their advertising - an example of which is in their latest catalogue. Nothing in the lefthand selection is a national brand even though their design looks as if it is a collection of different brands from here there and everywhere. The right-hand selection are all national brands - none of them home-brand and several of them would exist in home-brand versions. Very, very dishonest advertising.

In their defence I will say that Choice did say:

"When we have to compare products from different brands we look at nutrition panels, country of origin and other product information to ensure they're as close as possible ... that means they need to be the same size and similar in product quality, as well as appearance."

I did not pay as much attention to things like nutrition, ingredients, etc. etc. And I certainly wasn't judging quality, assuming that if you were on a budget, quality was probably not at the top of your list.

So a brief rundown on the items in the basket (the order in which I discuss the supermarkets is completely random - yes I have a mild bias towards Coles generally, but it's not necessarily rational and certainly not down to price):

Apples (per kg) I did not care what type of apples they were, I was just looking for the cheapest. Coles - $2.75 for I'm Perfect though you had to buy 2kg. Or $2.90 on special; Woolworths $3.10 for the Odd Bunch - you had to buy 2kg, or $3.50 for the cheapest apples. Aldi $2.99 for the cheapest.

Carrots (per kg.) - Coles and Woolworths, both on special $1.50; Aldi $1.99

Weetbix - well not actual Weetbix - I think, judging from the picture above, Choice did buy actual Weebix. Mine are home-brand versions from all three - Coles and Woolworths $4.60; Aldi $4.49

Sliced white bread - Woolworths had none - well not home brand, which I assume they do normally, so I just assumed it would be the same price as Coles - $2.90; Aldi $2.29

Flour (2kg) - Coles - $2.70; Woolworths $2.70; Aldi - only available in 1kg packets so therefore $$2.58 for 2 kg - still cheaper than the competition

Penne (500g) - Coles $1.00; Woolworths 90c; Aldi 89c

White sugar (2kg) - Coles $2.85; Woolworths $2.80 (only 1kg and 3kg available - the price for 2kg is based on the 3kg pack); Aldi $2.59

Tea bags (home-brand) 50 bags - Coles - only sold in 50 bag size - $2.20; Woolworths $1.90 ( they only had a 100 bag pack); Aldi $1.94

Tinned diced tomatoes - Coles $1.45; Woolworths $1.30; Aldi - 95c - a big winner (is the tin smaller? I did not check)

Tasty cheese (1kg block) - Coles $13.90; Woolworths $9.90; Aldi $9.49 - that's a big - around $4.00 - difference for Coles - which puts Coles as the most expensive. Why? Have they done a better deal for their producer or are they making a bigger profit? Strange.

Full cream milk (3 litres) - Coles $4.50; Woolworths $4.50; Aldi $4.49

Frozen peas (1 kg.) - for some reason I fixed on baby peas - Coles $5.80; Woolworths - $5.00; Aldi $4.49 - it is of course much cheaper to buy 'ordinary' peas

Beef mince - 1kg - Coles $11.00; Woolworths $11.00; Aldi $10.49 - but these were all prices if you bought a 2kg pack

Butter (500g) - Coles - $6.40; Woolworths: $6.40; Aldi $6.39

Choice, of course, also took into account the fact that prices around the country vary - sometimes enormously. What I pay in prosperous Eltham will be different to what they pay in Alice Springs or Broadmeadows. Prices also vary from day to day. So both the Choice and my surveys were just spot checks.

So yes prices have gone up enormously and yes it's cheaper overall to buy at Aldi, but if you are not on the breadline, there's really not a big difference - and even less difference between the big two.

Money is not the only factor though is it? If you are not on the breadline or seriously budgeting that is. Other factors - choice of products, quality, origin, ethical and environmental considerations ... can influence you - even irrational ones like you prefer the layout of one over the other, or the staff are friendlier in one over the other. Access too is a factor. Some people only have convenient access to one, or maybe two of the three. Some may only have access to IGA without a major trip.

Also bear in mind with Aldi that it's a private company and moreover a German company. The profits all go to the owners. Coles and Woolworths profits are spread between reinvestment and improvement and also to their shareholders. And that's probably the vast majority of us. Even if you do not invest yourself, your superannuation provider does which benefits you.

Another final consideration re Aldi, although it does, of course, apply in lesser degree to the other two - all those other things that fill the central aisles are very tempting. Almost always something catches the eye and so you buy things you really don't need. I bought a pair of hiking - that is walking - shoes today for example. And actually I did need them, but I wouldn't have bought them there if it hadn't been the week for walking shoes. Fun for me - disaster for those who need to watch their money - and more profit for the Germans and it probably doesn't bear thinking about as to where the goodies come from.

Still it keeps the other two on their toes. And the shoes are pretty good. As are lots of my best cooking pots and pans. And their cheese. We all love their cheese.