The national supermarket chains in which it is most economical to make purchases, in the midst of an escalation in food prices that have already accumulated an increase of 30.8% in the last two years, are Alcampo and Mercadona, followed by Lidl, according to the latest macro study from the Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU) released this Thursday. On the opposite side, in the chains with a presence throughout the country with the highest prices, are Sánchez Romero and El Corte Inglés.
In Catalonia, the cheapest supermarkets for shopping are, on average, Alcampo, Mercadona and Consum. The most expensive: Sorli, El Corte Inglés and Condis.
According to the OCU report, the average cost of filling the shopping cart in Alcampo supermarkets reaches 5,453 euros for an average Spanish family (2.5 members), while in Mercadona it amounts to 5,650 euros. In the middle part of the ranking are Carrefour, with an annual cost of the shopping basket of 5,839 euros; Aldi, with 5,870 euros; Eroski, with 5,950 euros; and Dia, with 6,021 euros. On the expensive side of the supermarkets, the prices of El Corte Inglés stand out, where filling the refrigerator costs 6,301 euros per year and Sánchez Romero, where the price shoots up to 8,212 euros.
The OCU once again identifies, for yet another year, where the cheapest establishments in Spain are located. They are Alcampo de Coia in Vigo and Alcampo de Murcia. Below are five other centers of the same chain also located in Vigo, Castellón, Teruel, Valencia and Gijón. The most expensive supermarket is the Sánchez Romero on Arturo Soria and Castelló streets, in Madrid.
The supermarkets that have increased prices most significantly are E. Leclerc, with an average increase of 16.8%; Supeco, which has raised them by 15.8%; Carrefour Express, 15.3%; and BM, 15.1%.
The OCU study also reflects the enormous difference that making purchases in different cities and autonomous communities makes. Teruel and Córdoba are the cheapest towns, followed by Jerez de la Frontera, Ciudad Real, Burgos and Castellón. The most expensive are Palma de Mallorca, Getxo, Madrid and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. The cheapest autonomies are La Rioja, Galicia and Murcia, while the most expensive are the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands.
According to the OCU, it is possible to save an average of 1,056 euros by buying in the cheapest establishment in the city where the consumer resides. In large cities, however, the savings can be greater, reaching 3,928.43 euros in Madrid.
The study by the consumer organization has been carried out by analyzing food prices in 1,108 establishments in 65 Spanish towns. In total, 155,489 labels were collected from the shelves for a shopping basket made up of 236 products including fresh food, packaged food, hygiene goods and drugstores. The leading brands as well as the white ones have been analyzed.
