Where should you shop to pay less? The simplest answer is a ranking: Germany, France, Luxembourg, Belgium. But the useful answer is more nuanced. The 2026 edition of the ‘Étude 4 frontières’ (four-border study), based on prices recorded in November 2025 in 25 supermarkets across the Greater Region, shows that whether a trip is worth it depends first and foremost on the contents of your shopping basket.
Across all sectors, Germany retains a clear lead. For comparable products with Luxembourg, German prices are on average 7% lower. France also retains an advantage, albeit a smaller one, of 4.1%. Belgium is at the other end of the scale: common products there are on average 11.6% more expensive than in Luxembourg.
The first match takes place in the home care, beauty and personal care aisle. In this area, Germany leaves the competition far behind. The study puts its advantage at 23.2% compared to Luxembourg in this sector. This is the clearest signal for consumers: personal care products, shampoos, deodorants, washing powders, shower gels, paper products, household cleaning products and feminine hygiene products make up the most cost-effective shopping basket to buy on the German side. France also remains cheaper than Luxembourg in this sector, though without matching the German price gap. It can therefore serve as an intermediate option, particularly for households already close to the French border. But in terms of pure price differentials, the household, perfume and hygiene battle boils down to a German victory.
Second area: fresh produce. Here too, Germany comes out on top. Fresh produce there is on average 5.7% cheaper than in Luxembourg. France also remains more competitive, with an index of 97.6, which is around 2.4% below the Luxembourg level. For dairy products, frozen foods or self-service cold meats, the cross-border shopping habit therefore still makes sense, but the German advantage is more pronounced.
The grocery shop offers a more nuanced result. France retains an advantage over Luxembourg in this area, with an index of 97.1. However, the gap is nowhere near as wide as that observed for hygiene products in Germany. For pasta, rice, sauces, biscuits, coffee, tea and snacks, there is a price advantage, but this varies significantly depending on the product category. The study also shows that price differences can vary significantly: some products are cheaper in France or Germany, whilst others remain more competitively priced in Luxembourg.
The liquids aisle partially reverses the hierarchy. This is where Luxembourg really stands out. France is slightly more expensive than Luxembourg in this category, whilst Belgium lags significantly behind: the gap stands at 22.5% in Luxembourg’s favour in the bilateral comparison. When it comes to alcohol, soft drinks and certain liquids, therefore, crossing the border is not always the best value for money.
Belgium appears to be the loser of the match. Luxembourg is cheaper than Belgium across all five product categories, with a particularly noticeable price advantage for liquids. In terms of product categories, Luxembourg is cheaper than Belgium in 67 categories, compared with just 16 where it is more expensive. Conversely, compared with France, Luxembourg is cheaper in only 22 categories, and compared with Germany in 24 categories.
The most counterintuitive finding, however, comes from the retailers. Shopping in Luxembourg isn’t necessarily a bad idea. Four of the seven Luxembourg retailers examined are below the average for the Greater Region. Better still: in six out of eight comparisons between retailers from the same group operating in several countries, the Luxembourg store has lower prices than its foreign counterpart.
The optimal shopping basket is therefore not limited to a single country. It is a mix of options. When it comes to hygiene and cleaning products, Germany is the clear winner. For fresh produce, Germany retains the advantage, with France as an alternative. For groceries, France can remain an attractive option, but on a case-by-case basis. For liquids, Luxembourg takes the lead. And for general shopping, the choice of retailer can matter just as much as crossing the border.
The border remains a key factor in the economy. But the study shows that the real winner is no longer just the consumer who shops abroad. It is the consumer who knows which product to buy on which side of the border.
