The UK's two fastest-growing supermarkets revealed

Both supermarkets are worlds apart (Picture: Getty Images)

Supermarket shoppers are flocking to Lidl and M&S like never before this year, with both retailers named the UK’s fastest growing supermarkets.

Although customers spent less money on food and drink compared to December – which should be expected post-Christmas – the two supermarket brands continue to make strides.

And while bargain-friendly Lidl might be an obvious choice for cash-strapped shoppers, M&S is somewhat more of a surprise.

For Lidl, a brand known for affordable deals and low prices, sales jumped 13.2% in the last 12 weeks.

The German supermarket chain’s success comes after its main rival Aldi knocked it off the top spot as the cheapest supermarket in the UK in December last year.

Lidl is also one of the cheapest supermarkets in the UK (Picture: Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto/Getty Images)

Aldi’s 16-month reign as the most budget-friendly chain came to an end the previous month, when Lidl took over.

According to December’s Which? report, Aldi had an average basket total of £76.77 while Lidl was slightly more expensive at £77.56, which meant it finished in second place.

On the other end of the price range, sales at M&S grew 11.6% in the last 12 weeks.

Last month, in its latest move to be the nation’s middle-class supermarket of choice, the brand has just announced 65 price cuts, with staple items in its ‘Remarksable Value’ range- such as baked beans, instant coffee and long grain rice – becoming even cheaper.

The latest discounts are in addition to the 200 price cuts M&S announced last October.

M&S recently announced price cuts (Picture: Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

In a move to become more affordable for bargain hunters, items such as its frozen strawberries (350g) saw a whopping discount of 22%, going from £3.20 to £2.50.

Meanwhile organic Fairtrade bananas (5 pack) will go from £1.90 to £1.60, representing a 16% reduction.

The latest data comes from the consumer intelligence company NIQ, which also showed that food inflation slowed to 6.1%, the slowest it has been since December.

While shopping at either Lidl or M&S, one way to make sure you’re getting the best deals is by keeping an eye on unit pricing.

Are you more likely to shop at Lidl or M&S? Share your thoughts belowComment Now

Unit pricing is a labelling system for displaying the cost of different products to standard units of weight and volume.

It’s meant to help shoppers compare the relative costs of products, irrespective of their size, to work out which product is the best value for the shopper’s needs. Research has found that buying bigger packs of regular items we all use everyday, like toilet paper and laundry detergent, doesn’t always lead to the best deals.

Consumer expert Victoria Leyton previously told Metro.co.uk: ‘If you need one, buying one at full price is better for your bank balance than buying three.’

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