Colruyt remains cheapest supermarket in Belgium, according to Test-Achats

Colruyt is again this year selected by consumer organisation Test-Achats as Belgium's most affordable supermarket, but the difference with the competition is getting smaller, as the Dutch supermarket chain Albert Heijn closes the gap, writes De Morgen. Test-Achats today presented the results of its annual study.

As in previous years, Colruyt was found to be the cheapest supermarket for people who buy a mix of brand name, private label and 'price first' products. Albert Heijn is on average 2% more expensive, followed by Red Market (Delhaize's discount concept).

The highest prices were recorded at Intermarché, Match and Smatch, where similar products were priced 14- to 15% higher than in the cheapest supermarket. By choosing to shop at the cheapest store, a consumer can save up to €300 per year on their grocery bill, according to Test-Achats.

Looking at top brand names only, Colruyt and Red Market are the cheapest, followed by Albert Heijn (+2%) and Okay, a neighbourhood retail chain of Colruyt Group (+5%).

Colruyt has the lowest prices for so-called 'white products', or generic brands, followed by Leader Price (+2%) and Albert Heijn (+4%). The cheapest house brands are found at Leader Price, while the house brands of Colruyt and Albert Heijn are respectively 6- and 7% more expensive.

Aldi and Lidl, where there is no difference between white products and house brands, the prices are lower than the house brands of other supermarkets, but slightly higher for price first brands.

For the study, Test-Achats compared 118,000 prices in 710 stores across the country. It also conducted a customer satisfaction survey, which again indicated Bio-Planet (organic branch of the Colruyt Group) as the country's best supermarket overall.