Waitrose has seen off competition from the discounters and M&S to be crowned the best UK in-store supermarket in Which?’s annual satisfaction survey.
The chain topped the ranking for the second year in a row after scoring a maximum five stars in almost every category – from ease of finding products and fast-moving queues, to friendly staff and the appearance of its shops. It was only let down by a two-star score for value in the consumer watchdog’s study, which is based on a survey of more than 14,000 of its members.
Despite its turnaround plan delivering improved sales performance, Asda was rated the worst amongst the nine supermarkets featured in the study. Which? stated that shoppers liked Asda’s range of goods, but wanted more recyclable packaging and products without packaging, as the store received only one star for this aspect. The survey also revealed that Asda provided neither the noteworthy store experience of Waitrose or Marks & Spencer nor the value of Aldi or Lidl. Asda scored just two stars for the quality of its own label products.
Asda responded to the result by pointing out that most of Which?’s members hadn’t visited one of its stores recently. A spokesperson for the retailer said: “We’re always happy to take feedback – but as 70% of the Which? panel surveyed haven’t visited an Asda in the last six months, we don’t believe their findings are a true reflection of the experience of our 18 million weekly shoppers, who are looking for a supermarket that provides great value, range and service to customers working to any budget.
“We’re constantly striving to improve our offer to our customers – be that through the efforts of our hardworking colleagues, the 1,272 new products we launched in 2019, the 530 awards we won for quality, the 8,000 tonnes of plastic packaging we removed from our stores or the 22nd annual Grocer Award for being the best-priced supermarket.”
Meanwhile, Marks & Spencer lived up to its reputation for quality, scoring five stars for both its own brand and fresh produce. Its overall customer score of 73% placed it just below Waitrose, not managing to quite match its rival’s in-store experience or product range.
Unsurprisingly, Aldi and Lidl were rated best for value, both receiving five stars. The two chains are seen as the best for those wanting more for their money, with rock-bottom prices making customers much more forgiving of their less-impressive traits, such as long queues, or unhelpful or hard-to-find staff. One Aldi customer told Which?: “It’s not a pleasant place to shop, but value for money is exceptional.”
Morrisons and Sainsbury’s came mid-table, with Tesco sliding in just below.
Harry Rose, Editor of Which? Magazine, commented: “The quality of fresh products is the single most important factor for our members when choosing where to shop in store, and this is just one of the areas where shoppers have told us that Waitrose excels.
“There’s clear room for improvement for the ‘big four’ – Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Asda – as they continue to trail behind Waitrose and M&S for experience, and behind Aldi and Lidl on value.”
Meanwhile, for online grocers, Ocado took the top spot while Waitrose came second.
