It is unusual to receive a delivery without a substitution, customers reported, with more than half (55%) experiencing this with their last order.
Among the most bizarre substitutions received were parsley replacing basil, potato gratin instead of macaroni cheese and red wine vinegar replaced by a bottle of red wine. Go figure.
And it wasn’t just online that the supermarket disappointed customers. Overall, Asda was the worst performing of the big four – which also includes Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morissons. Food quality was a big issue amongst Asda shoppers, who rated its own-brand items with one star and fresh products with two stars.
Ocado came out on top for online shopping, scoring an 81% customer rating for delivery slot availability, range of products and drivers’ service. Iceland narrowly missed out on the top spot for online shopping, coming in second with a 79% customer score.
Overall the big four supermarkets failed to impress customers and struggled to keep up with smaller rivals such as Waitrose, Ocado, Aldi and Lidl.
Waitrose topped the table for in-store shopping, receiving five-star ratings for store appearance, queuing time, staff availability and range of products. It didn’t score well for value for money, however, with a two-star rating.
Budget supermarkets Aldi and Lidl outperformed the big four when it came to overall customer satisfaction scores, receiving 68% and 66% respectively, and both received five stars for value for money. However, they performed poorly when it came to store appearance, staff availability and range of products, receiving only one star in these categories.
Harry Rose, editor of Which? Magazine, said: “Our survey shows that while the big four are failing to consistently give customers the high-quality experience they deserve, both in-store and online, no supermarket is getting everything right.
“People today have more choice than ever on where to do their food shop and staying loyal to one supermarket has become a thing of the past. The big supermarkets really need to up their game if they’re going to keep their customers coming back.”
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