Spain’s cheapest supermarkets « Euro Weekly News

Shopping these days is more difficult because of all the different supermarkets all of which offer enticing discounts and continuously boast being the cheapest in the country.

Some of the most well-established supermarket brands are Mercadona, Consum, Carrefour, and in recent years, German newcomers Lidl and Aldi have become very popular amongst conscientious shoppers who are always out to save some extra cash. And even more recently, PrimePrix and Sqrups have been exerting pressure on the more established competitors, offering even lower prices.

PrimePrix arrived in Spain in 2022, and in 2023, they sold a total of over 279 million euros in retail goods to their very satisfied customers. That was 43 per cent more than in 2022, proving growth is currently well underway..

Does PrimePrix walk the talk?

They now have about 230 stores and over 1,500 employees across Spain. PrimePrix CEO and Co-Founder Carlos Villar revealed some of the reasons why his stores are doing so well.

“We work with producers and manufacturers from all of Europe. We focus only on their surplus inventory, products being cleared out of their warehouses, and others that are about to be rebranded or repackaged,” Villar said.

Villar said that the strategy has enabled his stores to offer up to 70 per cent discounts on food products, cosmetics, and household goods.

There’s an even younger rival out there that is convincing consumers it is the place to shop without a shadow of a doubt. The store is called Sqrups. When it first started in 2023, it sold a mere 15 million euros, and in 2024, nearly 22 million euros, an increase of about 45 per cent.

Sqrups seems to be a lot of hype

What’s more. Sqrups opened doors to its 49th store in Madrid, its 113th nationwide. To better understand it’s success and why Aldi and PrimePrix are feeling the pressure, well, honestly, their strategy is quite similar to the latter.

It offers thousands of surplus of basic staples at very low prices. Sort of why it’s known amongst shoppers as the outlet supermarket. It offers 30 to 80 per cent discounts on all its products.

However, after doing a further analysis to determine which supermarket is the true low-price leader, Aldi showed them all that less talk and better offers is how you beat the competition.

Of course, to save on time for this article, we used ChatGPT, which said: For anyone new to Spain, Aldi currently offers the best bang for your buck on everyday essentials. In a price comparison of 10 staple items across seven major chains, Aldi’s total basket came in cheapest at just €17.70. Lidl and Mercadona followed closely behind.”

Aldi, Lidl, and Mercadona have the lowest prices

“While Primaprix and Sqrups market themselves as discount stores, they didn’t beat the big names when it came to this basic basket,” it added. “If you’re moving to Spain or just visiting for a while, Aldi, Lidl, and Mercadona are your best bets for affordable, reliable groceries — no discount cards or tricks needed.”

Product Aldi Lidl Mercadona Alcampo Sqrups DIA Primaprix Bread (500g) 0.95 1.00 1.00 1.05 1.10 1.20 1.15 Eggs (12-pack) 1.80 1.85 1.90 1.90 2.00 2.00 2.10 Milk (1L) 0.95 1.00 1.00 1.05 1.00 1.05 1.10 Rice (1kg) 1.20 1.20 1.20 1.25 1.30 1.30 1.35 Pasta (1kg) 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.05 1.10 1.10 1.15 Olive Oil (1L) 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.10 4.20 4.20 4.50 Toilet Paper (6 pack) 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.10 3.20 3.20 3.30 Dish Soap (750ml) 1.50 1.50 1.50 1.55 1.60 1.60 1.65 Cheese (250g) 2.50 2.50 2.50 2.60 2.70 2.70 2.80 Canned Tomatoes (400g) 0.80 0.80 0.80 0.85 0.90 0.90 0.95 Total Basket 17.70 17.85 17.90 18.50 19.10 19.25 20.05

“While Primaprix and Sqrups market themselves as discount stores, they didn’t beat the big names when it came to this basic basket,” it added. “If you’re moving to Spain or just visiting for a while, Aldi, Lidl, and Mercadona are your best bets for affordable, reliable groceries — no loyalty cards or tricks needed.”