What are the UK’s best and worst supermarkets, according to Which?

The UK’s most comprehensive supermarket survey has revealed the best and and worst grocery shops for food quality, customer service and value for money.

It hasn’t been easy for supermarkets over the past few years. From the coronavirus pandemic to supply chain problems, shortages and staff absences, they have been put to the test. The latest challenge is the cost of living crisis when food prices have risen faster than they have in decades.

Yesterday, families were warned that supermarket prices won’t fall until the “back end of the year” as official figures showed food inflation is still running close to record levels.

The benchmark Consumer Prices Index (CPI) measure of inflation fell to 10.1 per cent from 10.5 per cent last month – the third monthly fall in a row – but prices remain high.

Which’s annual survey of more than 3,000 shoppers showed which supermarkets are still managing to impress their customers amid all the turmoil.

Here are the results.

Best supermarkets for shopping in-store

Marks & Spencer came top of the list and beat discount store Aldi for the second year in a row. Customers were keen on the appearance of its stores, the service received from staff and the quality of its products. However, they did feel M&S could offer better value for money. For this reason, Which? didn’t categorise it as Recommended Provider.

Aldi is the only in-store supermarket to have been named a Which? Recommended Provider this year, coming joint second with Waitrose. It was the highest rated for value, alongside fellow discount store Lidl. Both stores were awarded four out of five stars. While Aldi received five stars for value for money last year, this time no supermarket did.

At a time when people are looking to cut the cost of their food bill, it is perhaps unsurprising that Aldi and Lidl outperformed the big four supermarkets: Asda, Sainsbury’s and Tesco and Morrisons.

In second place, Waitrose received five stars for the appearance of its stores, its staff and product quality – but just two stars for value for money. At the bottom of the table, with just two stars for stock availability, product range and quality is Co-op. It had one star for value for money, the lowest rating of all the supermarkets.

Best supermarkets for online shopping

Ocado won first place for online shopping, after coming second last year, beating the previous winner, Iceland.

Ocado customers were impressed with its range of products, the availability of its delivery slots and its customer service at delivery, awarding it five stars for these categories.

Yet, as the second most expensive supermarket in Which’s monthly price comparison, it wasn’t awarded the accolade of a Recommended Provider.

Iceland and Waitrose were in second place, receiving three stars for value for money and stock availability, and four stars for their websites and apps.

Waitrose was rated more highly than Iceland for its range of products and customer service at collection and delivery, where it received five stars, and quality, where it was rated four stars. Iceland was rated more highly for the availability of its collection and delivery slots, with five out of five stars.

At the bottom of the leaderboard is Morrisons. Customers were not impressed with its value for money, stock availability and selection of substitute items, where it received dismal two star ratings.

Which is the freshest online supermarket?

In addition to the customer survey, Which? went undercover to find out how supermarkets compared for freshness.

Tesco came top, with items lasting almost 11 days on average. Waitrose was at the bottom of the table, with items lasting an average of 8.6 days.

The biggest supermarket frustrations

Supermarket shopping is rarely perfect, so here is what people found most annoying when stocking up on food.

Biggest frustrations when shopping in-store

Long queues at the checkout (24%)

Not enough staffed checkouts (22%)

Shelves were not well stocked (16%)

Items on offer were out of stock (16%)

Obstructions in the aisles (12%)

Biggest frustrations when shopping online

An item I wanted was not available (36%)

Perishable goods were not fresh or didn’t have a reasonable shelf life (13%)

Items I chose were substituted (12%)

Products I wanted were hard to find on the website or app (12%)

It was difficult to compare products (10%)