The multiples still have work to do to become environmentally friendly if this quarter's The Grocer 33 online survey is anything to go by.

Despite their much-trumpeted environmentally friendly plans, the multiples used 53 plastic bags between them to deliver 158 items - working out at just under three items per bag.

We asked our shoppers to order the same list of items as in The Grocer 33 this week. The survey revealed that Tesco.com, Asda.com and Ocado used more plastic bags than in our previous survey at 11, 13, and 10 versus six, 12 and seven ­respectively.

Sainsburys.co.uk reduced the number of bags used from 14 to 11, but our shopper was still not ­impressed. Our Ocado shopper was appalled that lettuce, milk and the Old El Paso fajita dinner kit had been given separate bags, ­prompting her to vow never to use online shopping again.

WaitroseDeliver cut the number down from 10 last time to eight bags, making it the most eco-friendly on the plastic bag front this time around.

Elsewhere, the survey delivered a mixed picture of results. Some retailers provided high levels of customer service, while others left our shoppers unimpressed.

Most of our online shoppers found each retailer's system easy to use apart from our Tesco.com shopper, who had difficulty in finding own-label semi-skimmed milk and became so frustrated she gave up.

Our Sainsburys.co.uk shopper made good use of the website's search function and was impressed that if it did not recognise a product that she typed in, it gave a list of offers instead.

However, even with the search function, she could not find Mars Celebrations, meaning she could only order 32 items on the list.

In terms of delivery slots, all the supermarkets apart from Ocado were able to deliver items the next day.

The soonest our Brighton-based Ocado shopper could receive her shopping was two days after the order was placed, on Wednesday 24 January, in the 8pm-9pm slot on Friday evening.

But though the majority of supermarkets were good at quick delivery, they were not so good at ­delivering items within the time slot specified.

Our Tesco.com shopper's items arrived half an hour early, with Sainsburys.co.uk delivering bang on 6pm - at the very end of the two-hour window specified.

Asda.com was the worst offender and delivered goods an hour and a quarter late to our frustrated shopper - offering him no compensation.

By the time the goods finally did arrive the ice cream had melted and only half the amount of mushrooms our shopper ordered were delivered.

Our Sainsburys.co.uk shopper found her quiche was crushed and her ice cream had melted but our Ocado, Tesco.com and WaitroseDeliver shoppers did not experience any problems with the quality of the food delivered.

All our shoppers gave their delivery drivers the thumbs up and said they were polite and helpful. The Ocado delivery driver wiped his feet and carried the bags upstairs to our shopper's flat.

When it came to fulfilling orders, Ocado performed best, not substituting any items on the list.

Tesco.com only substituted Danone Actimel Original with Danone Actimel Orange, with no difference in price.

WaitroseDeliver substituted two items for the same price but when Sainsburys.co.uk substituted three items, two were more expensive than the items originally ordered.

The Soreen loaf was substituted for sliced Soreen - 30p more expensive. Sainsbury's.co.uk also delivered two individual Scotch eggs instead of a two-pack, ramping up the basket cost by 36p.

Asda.com substituted a ­whopping six items on our shopper's list, which were mostly in fresh produce.

However, all the substitutes were the same price or cheaper than the items ordered and no unwanted items were delivered to any of our shoppers.

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