UK supermarkets cheaper than discounters

There's been an interesting development in the UK supermarket arena -- the major grocery chains are now priced at or below the level of discounters -- at least in Edinburgh. In test-shopping a range of products at the "big 4" chains and the Lidl and Aldi discount stores, a Scottish newspaper found:

Asda was the cheapest for the overall shop, at £42.90, narrowly beating Lidl by just 17p – the cost of a tube of value brand toothpaste. Only Sainsbury's (£48.16) was more expensive than Aldi, at £46.39.

The interesting turnabout was:

The no-frills stores have – perhaps turning popular preconceptions on their head – defended their prices, saying it is about value for money and shoppers have to take quality into account.