At Which? we’ve been polling shoppers about supermarkets for so long that Somerfield and Safeway were still on the scene when we started. Of course, the supermarket industry has seen massive changes since the 1990s; home deliveries, self-service checkouts and the arrival of German discounters Aldi and Lidl, which have massively grown their market share.
But during lockdowns we might have struggled to get a delivery slot and instead braved the cold in a face mask to queue outside our local convenience store in the hope that it hadn’t run out of eggs or flour or loo roll.
Now in the second year of the worst cost of living crisis in 40 years, the bulk of our cash after mortgage or rent payments is being syphoned away by energy and other household bills with little left for basic groceries, let alone a porcini ravioli ready meal and a bottle of Pinot Grigio to wash it down with.
And while many of the big supermarkets have recently announced massive profits, UK households are skipping meals and struggling to put food on the table. It’s not a good look, and it’s leaving a bad taste in people’s mouths.
Just last month we found trust in supermarkets dwindling, something that these very retailers basked in during the pandemic. Only Aldi and Lidl managed to keep an even keel when it came to trust levels.
So what does it take to be the nation’s favourite supermarket? Is it a wide range of exotic products, brilliant customer service or is it that it provides a little bit of sanctum away from spiralling food inflation?
Well, according to our latest survey on supermarket satisfaction, it’s all of the above. For the second year in a row M&S has come top of our table for in-store shopping, doing well in most categories, with shoppers acknowledging that it was ‘expensive but good quality’.
Aldi, however, was hot on its heels and while it might not have got the best ratings for its product range, stock availability and queuing time at the check out, it did excel for its value for money, which is where Marks lost its spark. But shoppers didn’t say they had traded down to avoid high prices, as many described their experiences of shopping in-store at Aldi as ‘excellent’.
Waitrose came joint second with Aldi in our satisfaction survey. Like M&S, customers did not dispute that it offers great quality products, a lovely looking store and wonderful staff, but noted it came at an extra cost. In fact, Waitrose is consistently the most expensive supermarket in our monthly price comparison research.
So what does this tell us? Well for those who can afford it, high-quality products and a positive shopping experience still really does matter.
For everyone else, value for money is really the only factor worth its weight in salt. That’s why, it’s only Aldi that emerges as a Which? Recommended Provider for in-store shopping this year.
For the full results of our latest survey check out our best and worst supermarkets guide.
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