Following the recent news that dozens of supermarkets have failed basic hygiene checks, UK consumers have been asked what they think about the cleanliness of their local stores.
Significantly, 62% of shoppers worry how clean their supermarket is overall. The matter of most concern is where other customers will have touched surfaces or produce, according to research of 1,900 consumers by product intelligence business, Vypr.
A third (32%) believe that trolleys are the least clean aspect in store, followed by self-service tills (18%), while 12% said baskets and 11% the fresh produce section.
When asked if they clean their trolley and basket on arrival, low numbers claim they do with 35% and 31% respectively. However, a further 28% and 31% said that they only didn’t clean their trolley or basket as there was nothing available to clean them with.
Worryingly for food hygiene standards, almost two-thirds of consumers (64%) said that they often see open packs of food in store that should be sealed. Just over half of consumers (53%) also claim to worry about shops selling out-of-date food, which could also result in food hygiene issues.
Ben Davies, founder of Vypr, commented: “What’s interesting about our research is that most consumers clearly trust supermarkets to be delivering high standards of hygiene. We asked people whether they think cheese and fish counters, bakery, self checkouts and manned checkouts all comply with hygiene regulations and a high percentage – between 70 and 75% for each – all believe that they do. This shows high levels of confidence in our supermarkets to provide safe environments, and it appears consumers’ concerns centre around other shoppers in store and what they have touched.”
Less than one in 10 (9%) of shoppers have been so put off by a lack of cleanliness that they have changed which supermarket they visit.
When asked which supermarkets are the cleanest, respondents said Tesco was top, very closely followed by Sainsbury’s, Co-op, and then Morrisons. On the other end of the scale, Iceland was voted least clean by 18%, followed by Asda (17%) and Lidl (15%).
Davies added: “Our insight shows there could be quick wins for supermarkets that will help strengthen customer loyalty and build a better reputation for cleanliness. For example, during COVID, supermarkets introduced self-cleaning stations for trolleys and baskets and bringing this back will reassure many shoppers.”
