Supermarket Sleuths: The grocery markdowns you need to know about this Christmas

As Christmas Day fast approaches, frugal Aussie shoppers are sharing last-minute tips for saving on the cost of food for the festive season – and one is riskier than most.

This all comes from a Reddit thread called 'Aussie Frugal' where one shopper suggested waiting until Christmas Eve to purchase food for the following day.

That means instead of carefully planning out a meal, customers would have to wait until the night before to see what is in stock and marked down, and quickly come up with a meal plan after that.

It sounds sort of fun... and very, very stressful.

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This week in Supermarket Sleuths, we chat to the major supermarkets about their Christmas food prices, when customers can expect markdowns, and which products will give you the best bang for your buck.

Woolworths

Woolies is in the thick of markdowns as we speak.

"The festive season is here and we know this is the time customers are in the final stretch planning for the big day," Woolworths Chief Commercial Officer Paul Harker told 9honey.

"Now is a great time to pick up pantry essentials rather than waiting to do one big shop in the few days before Christmas.

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"We want to help our customers spend less this season, so we're reminding them that we have more than 6,000 weekly specials each week, as well as our Prices Dropped and Low Price programs so they can find great value to help their budgets go further this Christmas."

Christmas markdowns rolled out this week, with the supermarket releasing new deals each Wednesday.

This week, customers will find:

Australian Pork Leg Boneless Roast - $7.50 per kilo, save $3.50

Woolworths COOK Chicken Drumsticks with Sweet & Smokey BBQ Glaze 1.4 kg with RSPCA Approved Chicken - $8 per pack, save $2;

Ingham Turkey Breast Christmas Tree Nuggets 350g - $5, save $2;

Australian Cherries - $15.90 per kg;

Thirty per cent off all Bon Bons and Christmas lights.

IGA

IGA announces its price matches each week and tend to meet competitors' prices, so it's worth a trip to your local to see what's on offer.

As each IGA is independent, prices can fluctuate from store to store outside of these particular price-matched products.

This week you'll find:

Cadbury Favourites – $8

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Seven Mile Premium ham or IGA Picnic Shoulder ham for $11 per kg

Paul's Eggnog $5.50 for 1 litre

Ingham's Turkey Thigh Roast 1kg – $15 each

Cadbury Chocolate Dairy Milk Santa – $5 each.

ALDI

ALDI markdowns vary from store to store ahead of Christmas Day, however customers know the supermarket usually offers the lowest prices overall for products.

The only thing a lot tend to sell out, but it's definitely worth a shot.

An ALDI spokesperson told 9honey the supermarket "will not be beaten on the cost of your weekly shop and that extends to our 2023 Christmas offering."

"Last year alone, we saved ALDI customers $3.1 billion at the checkout and we remain committed to providing shoppers with the best Christmas essentials at the best prices day in, day out, in the lead up to December 25."

This week you'll find:

Festival Selection Australian Half Leg Ham, $7.99 per kg;

Whole frozen turkey for $7.89 per kg

The Antipasto Grazing Board Platter for $14.99

Crispy Jumbo Prawns $7.49 for 200 grams

Italian Panettone 750 grams for $8.99

Coles

Coles releases its markdowns each week, and with Christmas just 11 days away there are plenty.

Coles markdowns are on a store-by-store basis with customers advised to keep an eye on their local store for the best bargains, although an insider did suggest the best chance for a big saving is after Christmas Day.

There are plenty of Aussies who save time by taking advantage of these deals for belated Christmas celebrations or by purchasing non-perishable foods and other items for the following year.

This week at Coles you'll find:

Pavlova – $6 each

Australian Fresh Cooked Tiger Prawns – $30 per kg

Gourmet Cheese Selection – three for $13

Festive Pretzel Nut or Asian Party Snack Mix – $5 for 400 grams

Finest Luxury Jewelled Fruit Cake – $13.50 each

Costco

Costco is busy ahead of Christmas with plenty of savings on food, and for those hosting large lunches the store is certainly worth a visit.

There's plenty of everything in stock and this will continue until Christmas Day.

This week at Costco you'll find:

Whole seedless watermelon – $12.99 each

Kestrel potatoes – $8.99 for a 5kg bag

Kirkland Signature Rotisserie Chicken – $6.99

Kirkland Signature Prawn Platter peeled with sauce – $76.99;

Kirkland Signature Chilled Southern Style Lollipop Chicken Platter – $54.99.

**Products are subject to price variations depending on location and availability.