Data: Amazon Fresh at least 17% cheaper than big four rivals, new study reveals

The US etail titan, which launched Amazon Fresh in 69 postcodes across east and central London earlier this month, was found to be cheaper than all six of its competitors with an online grocery presence.

In a comparison of hundreds of branded goods sold by all seven retailers, Amazon Fresh came in between 17% and 21% cheaper than all members of the big four.

Amazon’s grocery offer was also 31% cheaper than Ocado on average, while upmarket grocer Waitrose was 40% more expensive than the online giant.

Results of the comparison of 364 branded products, which was conducted by Profitero exclusively for Retail Week, will heap further pressure on the established grocers to invest in price and improve their fulfilment capabilities.

Amazon Fresh promises same-day delivery on orders placed before 1pm and offers unlimited deliveries on orders worth over £40 for a one off cost of £6.99 per month.

According to Profitero’s research, Sainsbury’s was the worst-performing member of the big four when it came to the price of products including Yeo Valley salted butter, McCain French fries and Kellogg’s crunchy nut cereal, coming in 21% more expensive on average than Amazon Fresh.

Prices were 17% higher at both Tesco and Morrisons, while Asda was 18% more expensive on average.

Morrisons, which has launched a tie-up with Amazon to supply it with thousands of fresh, frozen and ambient products to sell through Fresh, had the largest selection of goods that were cheaper than its online partner.

According to Profitero, 27% of the 364 products studied were cheaper to purchase at the Bradford-based grocer than on Amazon Fresh, although 57% were more expensive. However, the research did not include any of Morrisons own-label products being sold through Fresh.

Asda was the next best performing member of the big four on this metric, with 12% of its products coming in cheaper than identical products on Amazon Fresh. The Walmart-owned supermarket chain was more expensive on 51% of goods.

Tesco was cheaper on just 9% of the branded products and more expensive on 57%, while Sainsbury’s undercut Amazon Fresh on 8% of lines, but was more expensive on 65%.

Ocado was cheaper than Amazon Fresh on 9% of the products studied, while the US giant was cheaper than its online rival on 67% of goods.

Three-quarters of Waitrose’s items were more expensive than directly comparable products on Amazon Fresh, but just 8% were cheaper.

The findings will further ramp up the focus on price after previous research from Profitero found that Amazon’s limited trial of 49 grocery products sold through Amazon Prime was significantly undercutting the grocers. The etailer came in 45% cheaper than Ocado on average and at least 24% cheaper than the big four.