Sheila Eggleston Asda has notched up another six months as the UK's cheapest supermarket. The Grocer 33's six-month review shows that Asda produced 12 of the cheapest full baskets between June and November 2001. Its nearest challenger was Tesco with five, Safeway had four, Morrisons achieved two and Somerfield and the Co-op had one each. Sainsbury and Waitrose failed to achieve any.
Asda's cheapest basket came to just £37.59, while its average cheapest basket was £1.11 more. These figures were up on the cheapest basket of £37.29 and an average of £38.27 recorded by Asda in The Grocer 33 data for the year to May 2001.
However, the multiple was deprived of an even higher share of the cheapest baskets because of out of stocks. If even a single item is not available during the shop, it cannot qualify for that week's cheapest basket. Asda's 12 cheapest baskets were the only full baskets it managed, with it recording 24 missing lines in the six months, 11 of which were frozen products.
Both Tesco and Safeway strived to improve stock levels, particularly in the freezer, and this was highlighted by each having only three missing frozen lines in six months. But Sainsbury did badly on availability almost tripling the number of out of stocks recorded in the previous six months.
Overcharging, undercharging and non charging was another growing trend at the multiples' checkouts. Between June and November 2001, 26 mistakes were made by checkout operators 17 were overcharges, six were failures to charge and three were undercharges. Sainsbury and Somerfield were the main culprits, each with six incidents, but none of the multiples had a clean record.
Our survey also highlights the growth in store congestion mainly caused by the army of shelf fillers blocking aisles. This was exacerbated by the increasing number of refurbishments creating upheaval while work is carried out. l See page 24.
Asda's cheapest basket came to just £37.59, while its average cheapest basket was £1.11 more. These figures were up on the cheapest basket of £37.29 and an average of £38.27 recorded by Asda in The Grocer 33 data for the year to May 2001.
However, the multiple was deprived of an even higher share of the cheapest baskets because of out of stocks. If even a single item is not available during the shop, it cannot qualify for that week's cheapest basket. Asda's 12 cheapest baskets were the only full baskets it managed, with it recording 24 missing lines in the six months, 11 of which were frozen products.
Both Tesco and Safeway strived to improve stock levels, particularly in the freezer, and this was highlighted by each having only three missing frozen lines in six months. But Sainsbury did badly on availability almost tripling the number of out of stocks recorded in the previous six months.
Overcharging, undercharging and non charging was another growing trend at the multiples' checkouts. Between June and November 2001, 26 mistakes were made by checkout operators 17 were overcharges, six were failures to charge and three were undercharges. Sainsbury and Somerfield were the main culprits, each with six incidents, but none of the multiples had a clean record.
Our survey also highlights the growth in store congestion mainly caused by the army of shelf fillers blocking aisles. This was exacerbated by the increasing number of refurbishments creating upheaval while work is carried out. l See page 24.
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