Tesco scores negative "buzz" rating as discounters dominate attention of shoppers

Aldi and Lidl have topped an annual list aiming to measure the best performing brands of 2014. Tesco, meanwhile, came 1,138th.

The two discounters beat off brands across dozens of sectors to steal the top two places in YouGov’s BrandIndex Buzz rankings.  

Aldi stole first place thanks to a score of 26.3, but second-place Lidl was hot on its heels, with a score of 20.3. The scores are calculated based on whether consumers heard anything positive or negative about the brand in the last two weeks. 

This shows a significant leap forward for the two discounters in the UK, with Aldi coming fourth in the annual list for 2013 and Lidl not even hitting a top ten spot. One reason for Lidl’s new position could be its successful marketing campaigns, such as the ‘Lidl Surprises’ advert. 

“Our end of year rankings confirm the impact Aldi and Lidl have had not just on the supermarket industry but on the overall retail landscape too. Consumers have been impressed by increased focus on quality on top of low prices,” said BrandIndex research director Sarah Murphy. 

With the discounters dominating shoppers’ attention, the traditional supermarkets trail far behind, with scores pointing to their high-profile struggles over the last year. 

Tesco was the only one of the big four with an overall negative score, coming in at 1,138th in the buzz rankings with a score of -17.5.

“With store closures announced by Tesco recently, company bosses will be extremely worried that the negative news that has afflicted the big brands will continue to effect sales and consumer opinion,” said Murphy. “The struggles the ‘big four’ supermarkets have encountered this year clearly had an impact on consumer perception.” 

Like Tesco, Morrisons found its current woes were reflected in the findings- with its score plummeting down 7.7 points from last year, to just 3.1, placing the supermarket at 211th in the rankings. Asda fared slightly better, coming in at 97 with its score of 5.3, down only 0.4 on last year. 

Waitrose came top of the traditional supermarkets, stealing eighth place thanks to a score of 13.1, whilst M&S took 12th place thanks to a 11.3 score and Sainsbury’s ended up in 27th place, with a score of 8.4.