Here at Which? we are always encouraging people to vote with their feet if they’re unhappy with the service they receive. In the case of supermarkets it’s perhaps even more pertinent as most of us use them every week.

We know that too much packaging and long queues are the key supermarket bugbears for people, but what is most important for customers? Great quality products are a big draw, and as food inflation makes us all more price-conscious, people want to feel that they’re getting great quality at a great value.

Which? recently asked more than 12,000 readers what they thought about their local supermarkets. Interestingly, while no one thing clearly stands out as the main reason, those supermarkets at the top end of our table excelled on either product quality or price, adding a uniqueness to their offering that their customers clearly like.

That’s why we’re not surprised that Waitrose is the clear winner of our annual supermarket survey. Waitrose’s colossal Which? member score of 85% was even higher than the score achieved last year. Our members actually enjoy shopping there.

Waitrose, while not an aggressive fighter in the supermarket price wars, has made efforts to assert the value for money it feels it offers its customers - the introduction of the Essential range has been a hit, and there are hints of price-consciousness in its claim to price-match Tesco on leading brands.

Our members like this the price rating for Waitrose improved by one star from last year. M&S came second, and its customer satisfaction score of 68% was an improvement on last year but Waitrose really led the charge.

The big gulf between the best and the worst is also unsurprising. At the bottom of our supermarket league table the Co-operative is still struggling, with our members scoring it just 46%. While commending the chain’s ethical approach, members showed little enthusiasm for its products or pricing. They think it’s convenient a ‘local’ shop with nothing standing out.

While those statistics might make you think Which? readers only appreciate the higher end of the market, you’d be wrong. When we celebrate the Which? awards on 23 June, Aldi and Lidl will take on Waitrose and M&S for Best Supermarket. Aldi previously won a Which? award, with our members finding it excellent value for money.

If you’re wondering how the big four performed, head to the lower end of the table. Morrisons scored a very respectable 59%, with good ratings for pricing and range. Sainsbury’s and Asda fell just below Morrisons. Sainsbury’s didn’t do too well in terms of price, and Asda customers weren’t impressed with the quality of products and the store environment.

The bottom two - the Co-operative on 46%, Tesco on 49% - got poor ratings for product quality and store environment. And while they’re not alone in receiving those ratings Lidl also got a poor rating for store environment they don’t demonstrate the redeeming features of those higher up the table. In our members’ eyes, there’s nothing special about them.

At Which? we want to celebrate the good as well as highlight the bad. I hope supermarkets that didn’t do so well in our survey this year will learn from the great example set by Waitrose, M&S, Aldi and Lidl.

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