A clean, organised, safe and well-stocked store helped Waitrose secure victory on this Sunday lunch shop, as availability remained mixed across its rivals.
Our shopper walked straight into the shop in Abergavenny and was greeted by a “great and colourful” promotion for the Scrumptious Summer range. All the work to deal with Covid-19 safety measures (signage, sanitisers and wipes) was dealt with outside, leaving the shopping to be “an enjoyable experience”. There were also signs inside reminding customers about two-metre social distancing.
There was an abundance of stock – and no gaps: only olives and feta from our shopping list were out of stock.
Staff were friendly and helpful, and maintained social distancing while restocking, but none wore masks or gloves.
“Sometimes it can feel you are getting in the way of staff members doing their tasks, but they made me feel like I was their priority,” our mystery shopper said.
It was also a strong performance from Sainsbury’s in Horsham, with the same availability score as the winner and just two items out of stock. However, certain areas (tinned soup, veg and tomatoes) were low on lines and the shop felt less well-stocked than pre-coronavirus, our shopper noted.
Social distancing markers on the floor were looking worn and some staff didn’t remain two metres apart when helping, but it was an easy shop and the store was calm and ordered.
Asda in Glasgow and Tesco in Sandhurst weren’t far behind Sainsbury’s, both scoring respectably.
Asda was let down by four missing items from the basket, a restocking trolley blocking an aisle and the one-way system being ignored by customers and staff. There were also no staff on the door to limit shopper flow, but the clean and well-maintained store was quiet.
Signage was helpful throughout the shop, as were staff, who were all wearing masks, and there was no queue at the checkout.
Tesco matched Waitrose for availability (two out of stock products) and there was no queue to enter, though it was busier inside as more customers were allowed in store. The retailer also put an end to its one-way system, but social distancing reminders remained present.
The store was clean and clutter-free, with most areas being “relatively tidy”. Points were lost for a more than 10-minute wait at the checkouts as the queues shifted from outside the store to the tills.
A lack of staff and product availability at a “messy and disorganised” Morrisons in Abbeydale, Gloucester, contributed to a poor score. After a wait of more than 10 minutes to enter the shop, our shopper found replenishment needed across most areas, empty boxes on shelves and no staff restocking or available to help.
Iceland in Farnborough limped home as the first Grocer 33 guest retailer during the coronavirus crisis. It scored poorly across all categories, with the worst availability of the week (seven out-of-stock and three not-stocked items).
There were no barriers or staff outside monitoring customer numbers entering the store and no sanitiser to clean trolleys before use.
Our shopper found the layout confusing and had to double back on herself three times in search of items. There was also only one till open, creating a long queue, with no barriers or signs to help with social distancing.
This week’s results:
| WEEK 5: Sunday 12/07/2020 (12.00pm - 15.00pm) | WINNER | Guest retailer | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asda | Morrisons | Sainsbury’s | Tesco | Waitrose | Iceland | |
| Location | Glasgow | Abbeydale | Horsham | Sandhurst | Abergavenny | Farnborough |
| Date | 12/07/2020 | 12/07/2020 | 12/07/2020 | 12/07/2020 | 12/07/2020 | 12/07/2020 |
| Time slot | 12-3pm | 12-3pm | 12-3pm | 12-3pm | 12-3pm | 12-3pm |
| Shop starts | 12:05 | 12:39 | 12:00 | 13:01 | 13:40 | 12:32 |
| Visit Duration | 00:57 | 00:50 | 00:35 | 01:18 | 00:35 | 00:38 |
| Shop Duration | 00:49 | 00:36 | 00:30 | 01:13 | 00:33 | 00:26 |
| Car Park (10) | 9 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 7 |
| Signposting (up to 1) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Queueing time to park (up to 2) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Trolleys (up to 2) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Queueing time from parking the car to enter the store (up to 3) | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Feedback (up to 2) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| There were barriers set up so customers could enter and exit the store safely, there was no queue when i got there so i was able to walk straight in, i couldnt see anyone attending to the door on my way in or out of the shop to limit the number of customers going in | Trolleys were neatly stacked near the entrance to the store where the queue started. I had to queue for approximately 10 mins before entering the store, and whilst in the queue I could hear a lady towards the front complaining that the two queue system was confusing and didn’t work. It hadn’t been apparent to me that there even was two queues, so clearly it wasn’t well signposted. When I got nearer to the front I could see that they had separate queues for basket and trolley customers, and would let in more basket customers at a time, presumably as they would be quicker. Right by the entrance there was hand sanitiser and spray to wipe your trolley over. It would have been more helpful if this was by where you collected your trolley, rather than at the store entrance. The team member on the door was polite and helpful - he stayed calm and polite when responding to the customer who was complaining. | One way system in place on entering & exiting. Plenty of staff there whether handing out self scanners, following social distancing when allowing people to enter the store, and cleaning the trolley handles. | I didn’t have to queue but there was a member of staff there cleaning trolleys and there were stickers and barriers to guide people | There were signs outside the store, explaining the 2 metre rule and asking customers to shop alone where necessary (see photos on email). There were 2 people at the entrance letting people in and cleaning trolleys as they were being returned. There was no queue when I arrived at the store so was able to go straight in. | As the Iceland store is in the town centre, it does not have a designated car park. Instead, customers are expected to park in the Pay & Display car park and walk across to the store. There were no trollies in the carpark and I couldn’t find any outside the store itself. When I entered the store, I found there was a small number of trollies inside. There were no barriers and no members of staff outside monitoring the number of customers entering the store. There was also no sanitiser or sprays with which to clean your trolley before use. There was a sandwich board type sign outside the main door reminding customers to maintain a 2m social distance once inside. | |
| Store standards (20) | 15 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 19 | 8 |
| First impression (up to 5) | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 1 |
| Feedback | There were stickers on the floor for a one way system with arrows pointing the right direction and no entry signs at the ends of the aisles you couldnt go down from that direction, although this wasnt being enforced and customers were going up and down the aisles in both directions, the aisles were wide enough that i didnt feel this was a problem though | There were plenty of social distancing stickers on the floor and lots of hand sanitiser stations around the store, more than I have seen in other supermarkets, which was great. I didn’t see very many staff members around the store, but most customers appeared to be social distancing. | More than one announcement asking customers to social distance. Didn’t notice any wipes or hand sanitisers. | There were wipes and hand sanitiser at the front of the store as I entered and a few notices around the store reminding people to keep their distance | The entrance seemed organised. There was a great “Scrumptious Summer” promotion for “G and T” with a great, colourful promotion - all of the work to deal with Covid-19 seemed to be done outside, leaving the shopping to be an enjoyable experience. This said, there were 2 feet signs and gridding at the entrance and throughout the store. | The store seemed quiet and I did not have to queue to enter. There were stickers on the floor reminding customers to “Keep a Safe Distance”, as well as on some of the freezer chests. No other safety measures seemed to be in place. |
| Displays (up to 3) | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Availability and replenishment (up to 5) | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 3 |
| Feedback | The shelves were all pretty full i never noticed any shelves that looked particularly bare, there were some areas where the staff was replenishing items but they kept in out of the way the best they could however there was one aisle where the staff member had left their trolley in the middle of the entrance to the aisle while she was kneeling on the floor to the side and this effectively blocked the end of this aisle, none of the aisles seemed particularly messy they were free of clutter and the shelves were clean and well stacked | The whole store felt messy and in need of replenishment across most areas. Considering it was just after 12 on a sunday, I would have expected them to have done much more by way of re-stocking before the store opened, and I only saw one staff member re-stocking as I shopped. There were several offer ends/freezers when had obviously been heavily shopped the previous day, and not re-stocked that morning, e.g 2 x pizzas and 1 ice cream for £5 which was almost completely empty, but still had POS on both sides of the fixture. | Certain areas - tinned soup, tinned veg, tinned tomatoes appeared less stocked than normal. Staff were filling some of these shelves, but it definitely felt like overall there was less stock than there would have been pre-Covid 19 | All areas of the store that I saw were well stocked and reasonably tidy, except for the herbs which were in short supply | The store looked great. There was plenty of product with no gaps evident throughout my shop (apart from olives and feta). Each aisle had some great offers (see a few pictures) that I would have indulged in had I not been doing this specific shop. The fruit and veg aisles looked very appealing. | The majority of the store seemed well stocked - there were no aisles that seemed obviously messy or bare. The fresh produce was being restocked while I was doing my shopping so that was a little on the bare side and some products were out of stock. The member of staff replenishing the fresh produce came right up close behind me while I was looking for one of my items, which made me feel quite uncomfortable. |
| Obstructions (up to 3) | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Spillages (up to 2) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Condition of the store in terms of cleanliness (up to 2) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Feedback | The store was clean and well maintained, there were some obstructions from trolleys from staff picking shopping or restocking but mostly the aisles were clear | The store was clean and relatively tidy, but where stock had sold through there were empty boxes left on the shelves, leaving it to feel quite disorganised | Some of the social distancing floor markings were starting to look a bit worn. | The store was clean and clutter free, with most areas being relatively tidy | The store was well organised. It appeared clean, organised and free of any spillages. There were lots of trolleys / people unloading products but these were all kept out of the way of shoppers. | The store seemed generally tidy and clean, however an egg had been broken on the floor and whilst a Wet Floor sign had been put out, it was not attended to during my shop. |
| Store layout (10) | 9 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 3 |
| Did the store layout seem logical and intuitive? (up to 2) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Was it easy to navigate the store while also feeling safe? (up to 6) | 6 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 2 |
| Did the store offered any Click & Collect services? (up to 2) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Shop Floor Service (20) | 16 | 8 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 13 |
| Product location (up to 5) | 3 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3 |
| Staff politness/responsiveness (up to 5) | 5 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 |
| Feedback | Staff were friendly and helpful pointing me in the right direction of the aisle i was looking for and asisting me reachig an item on a shelf i couldnt reach | As I was shopping there were several items which I could not find on the shelves, and could not see any team members nearby to ask (the only team member I saw apart from at the tills was restocking in the chilled aisle). On items which were out of stock, stickers had been placed by the POS, so it was easy to see that they did not have the item and choose a replacement item instead. | Scored 4 as they have always been helpful in the past, but I didn’t need their help on this visit. | N/A | I asked Jamie-Lee for help with the Olives & Feta as there was a gap where they should be. She scanned the bar code and went out the back and found me in the next aisle to let me know that they were out of stock and would get some in on Monday evening, so they’d be available on Tuesday morning. I chose the olives with manchego instead. I asked Stuart for help with the brioche 4-pack buns as there were none on the bread section. He looked out the back and came back with Heston’s 2 pack Brioche Buns but I declined and chose the 4-pack Rich and Buttery Burger Buns instead. In the alcohol section I asked for directions to the Aperol. The chap I asked, asked me to spell Aperol and he looked it up on his hand held device. We found the Aperol but it was only the 75ml bottle. I thought I’d seen it in the promotion aisle and we agreed I’d look there and return for his help if it wasn’t. It was nice not to have to ask people to look out the back. Both Jamie-Lee and Stuart immediately went to look for me. I found this really refreshing. | The staff members I asked for help locating items were both very polite and indicated which aisle I would find the product in. The staff member on the checkout was very polite and cheerful too, which was appreciated. |
| Was it easy to find a member of staff (up to 3) | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Were staff easy to identify through their uniform or name badges (up to 2) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Staff presentation (up to 5) | 4 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
| Feedback | All staff i seen were wearing face masks, i didnt see anyone wearing gloves while i was there. while speaking to the lady at the checkout she explained they need to change their mask every 4 hours while on shift so it is more hygenic and hasnt been on too long | Most team members did not appear to be wearing gloves or masks. | When I was at the check-out I needed some help as the payment system was quite sensitive. The staff member who came over to help me didn’t socially distance at all. Also, when in the bakery section the staff member restocking the shelves didn’t socially distance either. | N/A | All staff kept their distance and were really helpful. I interacted with 3 team members and found them all to be most helpful and they seemed happy to help. Sometimes it can feel that you are getting in the way of staff members doing their tasks but all three members of staff made me feel like I was their priority. | The Iceland uniform is not easily distinguishable from a distance and I had to double check I was approaching a staff member! With the exception of the gentleman replenishing the fruit and veg, staff kept a safe distance. |
| Tills and checkouts (20) | 18 | 13 | 15 | 13 | 16 | 10 |
| How well managed were the queues leading up to the till-operated checkouts in terms of maintaining order and social distancing? (up to 2) | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| How well managed were the queues leading up to the self-service checkouts in terms of maintaining order and social distancing? (Please observe after you’ve completed your shop, and include observations around attentiveness to customers requiring help due to flashing lights/unattended items in bagging area) (up to 2) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| How long did it take to queue (prior to scanning) (up to 4) | 4 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| Please rate checkout staff on their customer service and safety (up to 7) | 6 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 3 |
| Time for G33 items to be scanned (including payment) (up to 3) | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Was the till receipt free of mistakes? (up to 2) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Feedback - please provide any further details/feedback on the tills and checkout: | The tills were quiet when i approached so i was able to unload my shopping without queuing, the cashier waited until i had almost all my shopping loaded before beginning to scan, she was very friendly and spoke to me while scanning my items, the self scan area was manned by one member of staff wearing appropriate PPE and she was directing customers to checkouts so they could maintain distance and went to help customers who needed it as soon as she was able | The queuing system was very complicated. The bottom of most aisles had been blocked off with tensor barriers, to separate the tills from the store, making this aisle more difficult to shop. Shoppers could then go down one aisle to queue for either basket or trolley tills, but there was no one at the bottom of the aisle to direct people, and you couldn’t see which tills were free from the end of the aisle, so I probably waited longer than I needed to. When I got to the till and started to load my shopping, the team member on the till (Dawn), glanced up at me, then continued her conversation with another team member (who looked like a manager), without acknowledging me. Once I had loaded my items she processed them, and only spoke to me at the end to give me my total and say goodbye. | N/A | Although the checkout staff member was not wearing gloves she sanitised her hands between each customer | There was someone on the self serve till at all times but there wasn’t really anyone directly on the managed tills. That said, there wasn’t really a queue bigger than one person on each open till point. I did have to wait for 3 minutes for a till to become free and as I was waiting and observing the self serve section, the chap overseeing the self serve checkouts called for someone to help on the tills. I was then able to go straight to the new till operator. | There was only one till open for a long time and the checkout queue was 7 customers deep. Then they called a colleague and a second till was open. There were no signs or tape/barriers to ensure safe queueing, although there was a screen between the checkout operator and customer. |
| Availability score (20) | 12 | 10 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 3 |
| Of the 33 items on your shopping list how many were: | ||||||
| Available (up to 20) | 29 | 27 | 31 | 31 | 31 | 23 |
| Out of stock (-2 per item) | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| Not stocked (-1 per item) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Availability % | 87.9 | 87.1 | 93.9 | 93.9 | 93.9 | 76.7 |
| Please note down the items on your shopping list that were out of stock (please highlight the products that have managed to get a satisfactory substitutions) | he ASDA Penne there was a smartprice option available, the lenor unstoppables there was different scents however they had the scent i wanted in a larger size for a cheaper price so i chose that, the ham i was able to substitue for a similar ham with a different flavour and the pizza was changed for the same brand only a different flavour |
Morrisons Semi Skimmed 6 pint of milk (OOS sticker on shelf), I bought a 4 pint instead. Actimel Fruit and Veg Cultured Shot Red Smoothie (OOS sticker on shelf), I bought the Actimel yoghurt drink instead. Nutmeg Moisturising Antibacterial Handwash (OOS sticker on shelf), I bought Palmolive Handwash instead Morrisons Tamari Soy Sauce (OOS sticker on shelf) I bought Kikkoman Soy Sauce instead. |
I wanted to buy a 4-pack of Dove beauty creme soap (which you can buy online). I didn’t see any space for this, and could only see 2-packs and 6-packs. I bought 2 x 2-packs instead. There were no Manzanilla olives garlic & herb (though I had seen them online when creating my list). Instead I bought 2 x 160g of normal garlic & herb olives to roughly equal the 300g I had hoped to buy. |
Bay leaves - OOS and no substitute Bananas - OOS and different bananas purchased as a substitute |
4-pack Brioche Buns - I bought Buttery Burger Buns instead Olives & Feta - I bought Olives and Manchego instead | 1. Sliced Chorizo - Substituted with sliced pepperoni 2. Iceburg Lettuce - Substituted with Gem Lettuce 3. Rice Krispie Squares - Substituted with Chocolatey Squares 4. Tenderstem broccoli - Not Substituted 5. Red Shrimp - Substituted with King Prawns 6. Four Cheese Pizza - Substituted with Cheese & Ham Pizza 7. Breadcrumbs - Not Substituted |
| Please note down the items on your shopping list that were not stocked (please highlight the products that have managed to get a satisfactory substitutions) | N/A | Morrisons Crunchy Slaw Kit - There was a sticker on the shelf to show where it should have been, but no stock and no team members in any of the surrounding aisles to check with. I bought a Cesear Salad bag instead. Propercorn sweet and salty popcorn. There was only a small popcorn area and the shelves were well stocked, so it appeared that this brand was not stocked in that store (I could not find a team member in any of the surrounding aisles to check). I was happy to have the Morrisons own brand popcorn instead. |
N/A | N/A | N/A | 1. Raisins - Not Substituted 2. Chilli Powder - Not Substituted 3. Radox Bubble Bath - Not Substituted |
| Please give any other details or info about your shopping trip, good or bad | The store had stickers for a one way system in place but this wasnt followed by customers or staff, the layout of the store was confusing compared to other supermarkets with health and beauty items when you first enter the store and butter/yogurt being separate from milk/cheese which would normally be together, this resulted in going back on myself a few times to find all the items, the signage was very helpful though. I felt safe during my trip, despite there being no one i could see on the door the shop wasnt too busy, the staff all wore masks as did all customers i passed and the store was well stocked meaning i was able to get everything on my list with just a few substitutions |
Rather than have all the fresh/cold items together, they were along the rear of the store and then down the end aisle, which was different to other stores. I was able to easily find everything though with store signage. There was plenty of stickers on the floor for social distancing, but no one way system - I personally find this easier, as the one way systems are very tricky when you realise you’ve forgotten something and need to double back! The whole store felt very much in need of re-stocking and short staffed. The only team member I came across in the store (apart from at the entrance and tills) was in the chilled aisle, right at the end of the store. The till queuing system does not appear to be well thought out. Overall, it was not a store I would choose to shop at again. |
I’ve never used Click & Collect before, but I have seen a lot of people using the system. I was expecting it to be busy as it was Sunday lunchtime, but it was quiet. The weather was good, so that may have made a difference. I was in and out in 30 minutes. I didn’t have to queue at any point in the whole visit. My only negative is the staff member getting too close who took my car park ticket away to validate, but then got distracted with another customer, so I had to go over to him to get it back. I shop there regularly, and have never seen him before, so did wonder if he was new to the job. |
Tesco have recently removed their one way system, but there was tape down the middle of the store encouraging people going one way to walk on one side and people going the other way to walk on the other side. There was also tape down the aisles marking out 2m distances. Generally this was a good trip other than the queue for the checkout. The store felt busier than supermarkets have in previous recent visits as they are letting more people in that previously. This did mean I didn’t have to queue to get in, but had to queue for the checkout instead. |
There is click and collect available at the store with the collection / customer service desk to the left of the entrance. The chap overseeing the self checkout area was very efficient and was laughing and joking when he was helping out the customers. It was nice to see this interaction as it can be frustrating as a customer when things go wrong on self checkout - it was nice to see him making customer feel happy and making the interaction a fun one. |
Whilst all the freezer chests were well signed and intuitive, the rest of the shop was very confusing! Being primarily freezer-based, the other dry grocery items were just shelved above the freezers, and I had to double back at least three times in order to find the items I was looking for. |
| TOTAL SCORE (100) | 79 | 58 | 81 | 78 | 87 | 44 |
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