Britain's Favourite Supermarket - Asda impresses shoppers, and not just with prices

Asda has been voted Britain’s Favourite Supermarket for the third year in a row - but Aldi overtook Tesco on price and value-for-money for the first time in the poll of more than 6,000 households.

Asda’s pre-eminence was once again built on its value-for-money credentials. It came out on top in three of the eight weighted criteria used by Nielsen to determine the winner: on price, promotions and deals, and value for money.

Combined with a strong showing in other criteria, Asda took the top prize, and in this regard Asda CEO Andy Clarke points to the hard work it has done to improve the quality of its own-label food, the durability of its pioneering 10% price guarantee, the accessibility it has driven through its work in multichannel as well as the friendly atmosphere it works hard to make its trademark.

But Aldi showed its increasing presence on shoppers’ radars by coming second for both prices and value for money, with Tesco moving down to third in both cases.

“Clearly in the minds of the consumer Asda communicates that they are the cheapest supermarket very well,” said Mike Watkins, senior manager for retailer services at Nielsen, which conducted the poll. “But despite the tough economic backdrop the message coming across very clearly is that it’s not just about price. Customers are also demanding value for money, where both Asda and Aldi are also performing very strongly.”

Sainsbury’s retained its pole position for ethics and shopping experience, with M&S best for quality of food and customer service. Tesco was the preferred supermarket for product range.