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Mystery shoppers from Choice visited 81 supermarkets across the country to discover where it is cheapest to shop.Credit:Getty

Shoppers were sent to 81 stores across the country to buy a list of 14 basic items:apples,carrots,Weet-Bix,sliced white bread,flour,penne pasta,white sugar,teabags,tinned diced tomatoes,a block of tasty cheese,full-cream dairy milk,frozen peas,beef mince and butter.

The average Aldi basket price came in at $51.51,with and without specials. Woolworths shoppers spent $68.58,or $64.93 with specials,while customers at Coles had the most expensive receipts,at $69.33,or $68.52 with specials.

It meant Aldi shoppers spent $17 less on the 14 items,or a 25 per cent saving.

The mystery shoppers deployed across the nation’s grocery stores were funded by the government,as part of its action on supermarket pricing. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese earlier this yearannounced a review into the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct,warning supermarkets to pass on any savings they make from suppliers to consumers.

The final review is expected this weekbut an interim report said compulsory regulations should be imposed on supermarkets to govern how they deal with suppliers,backed by heavy fines and new rules to address claims of price gouging and market manipulation.

Choice’s research has revealed there are slight variations in prices between states,but Aldi is consistently cheaper,while Coles and Woolworths have similar offerings.

In NSW,the average cost of the 14-item basket was $50.82 at Aldi,$68.25 at Woolworths,and $68.80 at Coles. Meanwhile in Victoria,shoppers at Aldi spent $51.52,at Woolworths spent $68.66 and at Coles spent $68.36.

Queenslanders’ Aldi baskets came in at an average cost of $51.52,a Woolworths basket cost an average of $68.23 and the Coles basket cost $68.70. As for Western Australia,the average Aldi basket cost $52.52,while shoppers spent $69.29 at Woolworths and an average of $70.78 at Coles.

Shoppers at Aldi have been found to pay less than those at Woolworths or Coles.Credit:Oscar Colman

Tasmania and the Northern Territory do not have an Aldi,so four IGAs were used as a substitute. Choice said the IGA shoppers ended up paying higher prices.

The results were measured from March this year and represent the first quarterly update to be published by Choice after the consumer group received $1.1 million in federal government funding over three years to help inform shoppers of the best deal.

Assistant Minister for Competition Andrew Leigh said Australia’s supermarket sector was one of the most concentrated in the world,so it was fair they were treated to proper scrutiny through the Choice report.

“Information is power,and we’re putting that power in the hands of consumers. Helping shoppers find the best deal makes the family budget stretch further and puts more competitive pressure on the supermarkets,” he said.

Choice’s next quarterly grocery price report will be released by the end of September.

Greens Senator Nick McKim said the report confirmed there was not enough competition in the supermarket sector. “Coles and Woolworths dominate the market and are clearly not competing with each other on prices,” he said.

“It beggars belief that there could be just 1 per cent difference in prices between the duopoly.”

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