Do you want to save money on your daily shopping? Use this online comparator: regularly updated by consumers, it will show you the cheapest supermarkets near you.
In this period of inflation, there are no small savings. As the price of our everyday foodstuffs continues to increase, it becomes more than necessary to scrutinize promotions in catalogs or on shelves, and to add discount coupons and refund offers when we can. . But you still have to find the cheapest store to do your shopping. And for that, there is no magic recipe, you have to compare prices, which vary enormously between brands in the same area, and even between stores of the same brand depending on the region. That’s good, UFC-Que Choisir has developed an online comparator that shows you the cheapest drive-thru supermarket near you. You can find it at this address.
Thanks to this interactive map, you can view the prices of stores near you, department by department (grocery store, fruit and vegetables, dairy products, butchery, drinks, hygiene and beauty). The association records tens of millions of prices every day, for major brands and private label brands, in nearly 6,000 major food distribution stores, namely Auchan, Biocoop, Carrefour Hyper, Carrefour Market, Carrefour City, Casino, Géant, Colruyt, Cora, Leclerc, Intermarché, Monoprix, Super U and Hyper U. On the other hand, certain stores such as Lidl and Aldi are not taken into account, because they do not offer a drive service. but it’s a real shame because they charge low prices and the comparison with other chains is very instructive.
The comparator is very easy to use. Simply choose the profile that best matches your household – single, couple or family – and indicate your postal code and a radius around you – from 0 to 20 km – in order to define the search area. All you have to do is click on “Search”. In the left column, the comparator will show you the list of the cheapest stores, but you can also click directly on the brands on the map.
For each store, you will find its address, the average basket price compared to its competitors, price details for major brands (or national brands), distributor brands and organic products, as well as price details for all departments of the store (grocery, fruits and vegetables, dairy products, meats, drinks, hygiene and beauty). Note that the reference value of the average basket has been set (average monthly expenditure depending on the type of household) at €204 for a single person, at €355 for a couple without children, and at €480 for a family with children. See if you are average!
One question remains: is it better to do your shopping in store or drive through? The association once again looked into the issue by raising the prices of certain products in nearly 1,304 stores of the main brands present in France. This survey was carried out between September 23 and October 7, 2023. Overall, there are no major differences between these two modes of consumption – which makes the comparison all the more practical. However, it turns out that shopping in store is a little more expensive at Monoprix, Auchan and Carrefour, with prices higher by 1%, 0.8% and 0.3% respectively on average. On the other hand, the prices are strictly identical at Leclerc, and a little lower in supermarkets in the case of Intermarché and Système U, with 0.3% and 0.7% less.
Where there is a big difference is at Casino: prices are 17% higher in stores than in the brand’s drives. Which really doesn’t encourage you to go to this chain which is in bad shape, which is in the process of restructuring following its takeover by the Intermarché and Auchan groups.
Generally speaking, it appears from the comparator and regular surveys by UFC-Que Choisir that prices vary significantly between brands in the same area, but even more so from one region to another, with differences sometimes very notable. Only a few rare chains like Lidl charge the same prices throughout France.