Best and worst supermarkets revealed

Waitrose and Iceland have been rated as the best supermarkets for in-store and online experience respectively, while Marks and Spencer has topped the first ever Which? convenience store satisfaction survey with its Simply Food stores.

In a Which? survey of more than 7,000 shoppers, Waitrose secured the in-store accolade just ahead of closest competitor Marks and Spencer, with both earning plaudits for their store appearance and quality of own-label and fresh products.

Shoppers were asked to rate stores based on drivers such as store appearance, ease of finding products and overall quality of fresh products. When it came to the online ranking, shoppers were asked about relevance of substitutions for products, value for money and delivery driver’s service.

The Which? supermarket and convenience store ratings show:

  • Aldi and Lidl share third place and are the only two supermarkets in the survey to be awarded top marks for value for money.
  • Morrisons is the biggest climber from last year’s survey, moving up from eighth to fifth.
  • Asda came last below Tesco (8th) and Sainsbury’s (7th), who were ranked lower due to many of customers’ favourite products not being in stock, difficulty finding items and low scores on value for money.
  • In the online category, Iceland Online came top for the second consecutive year, with customers particularly happy with convenient delivery slots and friendly drivers.
  • Ocado took second spot ahead of other online competitors including Morrisons, Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose.
  • Despite finishing runners up in the in-store category, M&S had reason to cheer as its Simply Food convenience stores came top in the first ever Which? convenience store satisfaction survey.
  • Budgens, Nisa and Spar occupied the three bottom places of the convenience store survey

Each overall score is based on a combination of customer satisfaction and the likelihood of recommending the supermarket to a friend.

Richard Headland, Which? magazine editor, said:

“With concerns over rising prices the competition among supermarkets is fiercer than ever. While value for money remains a top priority, in-store appearance and the availability of quality and fresh products can also go a long way to satisfying shoppers’ needs.”

Notes to Editors

  1. Research: Which? surveyed 7,004 members of the general public in Nov 2016 about supermarkets they had shopped with in the previous six months. Each overall score is based on a combination of customer satisfaction and the likelihood of recommending the supermarket to a friend.
  2. In-store Supermarket and Online Supermarket Table
    In-store and Online Tables
  3. Convenience Store Table – Survey of 4,776 members of the UK general public in November/December 2016. Sample sizes in brackets. This survey covers shoppers’ ratings for Co-op Food’s remaining larger stores
    Convenience Table
  4. For advice and how to make the most of your supermarket experience, visit http://www.which.co.uk/reviews/supermarkets/article/guides

Press Release