Sainsbury’s won by a comfortable margin this week, scoring a whopping 14 points more than its nearest rival, Tesco.

Its Hamilton store impressed with a “clearly signposted” car park and a top-notch in-store experience that made it an “absolute pleasure” to shop. A smooth checkout experience with a “nice” cashier helped seal the victory.

Tesco Sheffield was “tidy and well-presented,” but the fruit & vegetables section was smaller than would have been expected for the size of the store, and not all products were found on the shelf. On the way out, our shopper ended up in the petrol ­station due to poor signage.

In-store sampling of a health drink was on offer at Waitrose Edgware Road, which was described as “excellent.” Staff were knowledgeable and willing to assist, but a lengthy queue of 13 minutes (as two tills broke while our shopper was queuing) meant it scored the lowest for this section.

The Small Heath branch of Morrisons was “inviting” but the layout “illogical”. Chilled ready meals and fresh pasta were at one end of the store, while all other chilled products were at the opposite end. No attempt was made to check on missing products, there was a lengthy checkout queue and no help was offered with packing.

The foyer at the entrance to Asda Gloucester was cluttered, and our shopper had to “fight” past pallets to get in. Litter and empty boxes were seen in the aisles, and products were placed in wrong locations. Staff service was mixed, there was a lengthy queue, and a mistake was spotted on the receipt.

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