Consumentenbond: No single Dutch supermarket can be cheapest overall

Several Dutch supermarkets have stopped making claims about offering the lowest prices after the Dutch Consumers’ Association (Consumentenbond) reprimanded them for misleading customers. According to the consumer organisation, no single supermarket can be the cheapest. 

9 chains claim to be cheapest Dutch supermarkets

At one point in 2025, nine supermarkets simultaneously claimed to be the cheapest in the Netherlands. Aldi, Boni, Dirk, DekaMarkt, Lidl, Hoogvliet, Nettorama, Plus and Vomar all made these similar promises.

Consumentenbond noticed this and called the supermarkets out for making misleading claims. “We find all these promises absurd. Simply because they can't all be true simultaneously. But also because supermarkets almost never substantiate the claims,” wrote the consumer organisation in a news release. “That's why we asked them to stop doing this. Or to substantiate their promises, for example, with independent, recent research.”

Comparisons of supermarket prices are done regularly. The Consumentenbond compiles a shopping basket with A-brands, store brands and basic products and releases price surveys for the different supermarkets based on specific segments, such as fresh produce, organic products or basic groceries. “It's impossible to keep the price of every product the lowest at all times," a spokesperson told NU.nl. 

Supermarkets in the Netherlands stop misleading claims

Consumentenbond states that so-called “lowest prices” are misleading as shoppers trust these promises. Jumbo and Picnic stopped promising the lowest prices years ago, while others only followed their lead after being reprimanded by the Consumentenbond. 

Since then, chains like Aldi that advertised “Nowhere cheaper” or “The cheapest supermarket”, have halted these claims. The only supermarket in the Netherlands still claiming to offer the cheapest produce is Vomar, which has until Easter to stop. 

According to retail expert Joeri van Rens, there’s no supermarket that is objectively cheaper than another. Sometimes you can even get better deals at stores that aren’t considered cheap like Albert Heijn.

"It depends heavily on purchasing behaviour, brand preference, type of groceries, and even timing,” said Van Rens. “For one consumer, that's a discount store; for another, a service format with special offers. If you're purely focused on price, that will practically mean visiting multiple stores. But who has that kind of time?"