Are these 'cheaper' shops really cheaper?

It’s not wise to assume that these cut price supermarkets are always cheaper on every item. Where you can save money is because there is much less choice so less temptation to by things you don’t necessarily need. Personally I find shopping cannily at almost any supermarket is the way to go.

I love Lidl- definitely cheaper, but you can't get everything there- choice is more limited. (I expect Aldi is similar- we just don't have one near).

Well A can be Aldi or Asda not sure which you are talking about ( I thought you meant a pound shop when you called it a cheap shop) I don’t think the amount of things in packets is any different in those shops than in other supermarkets I think all the food in general has increased in money or decreased in size with the political situation over the last year I don’t think it’s just Aldi
I like Aldi’s goods although Lidl is closer to me so they get my custom and just as good
I also buy some food in B and M if I m there for instance their Bovril jars are about £2 cheaper than any supermarkets I do know that on the few times I ve done a full shop in a different supermarket to Aldi and Lidl my bill has been nearly twice as much

I shopped in Aldi recently, buying a tin of tomatoes and some hand soap. When I got home, I found I'd been charged twice for the soap and when I opened the tin, there were precisely one and a half tomatoes in it.

I did get a cute wooden airport for my GS, though, and their craft things are good.

It's a 40 mile round trip for me to go there so it's not high on my must-visit shop list.

A lot of shops seem to be reducing the size of packets of food items rather than putting the prices up.
Pitta bread for one. My vegetarian sausages and a good few motre items.

I shop in that shop and find the quality to be very good and contents to be no less than any other supermarket.
One well known brand that has 57 varieties has reduced the contents of their tins over the last year or two, especially the soups.