High scores were the order of the day for most retailers in this online Grocer 33, but Waitrose nicked the win by a point.
The order in Liverpool scored 94 thanks to a “very easy and speedy” ordering process and a delivery that arrived “dead in the middle” of the time slot.
The driver was professional, friendly and “had obviously been doing his job for a long time”. Our shopper received 33 items, including two acceptable substitutions.
Asda in Newcastle just missed the top spot with 93 points. It scored a perfect 20 for availability: all 33 items were delivered, including three substitutions that were “extremely close” to what was ordered. Our shopper also received an email and a text to alert her to and apologise for the substitutions.
Punctuality and website navigation were both excellent, but the “pleasant” if “somewhat nonchalant” driver’s tablet wasn’t working, meaning our shopper had to bring up the substitutions herself.
A second Newcastle shop, this time from Tesco, took third place. One item on the list – the milk – was unavailable and no alternative was offered.
The delivery arrived 20 minutes after the designated hour, though well within the five-hour ‘flexible’ slot originally booked. Overall, our shopper found the service “very good” and said she would “definitely consider” Tesco next time she wanted shopping delivered.
In Ilford, Essex, Sainsbury’s took fourth with a score of 83. All 33 items were delivered, with two alternatives suggested at the time of the order and two substitutions arriving with the final shop. Our shopper noted the website search function was slow and was unhappy that fresh veg was not bagged separately, which felt “unhygienic”.
Next came Ocado in Bagshot with 82. Our shopper received 32 of the 33 items after she did not accept the suggested alternative for the baguettes.
As well as availability, Ocado took a hit thanks to a curt driver who put the bags in our shopper’s front porch and left with no more than a “hi” and “bye”. He also “didn’t ask if I had any bags to return, which they normally do at Ocado”.
Morrisons in Acton was strong on availability: all items were delivered, including two accepted alternatives. One of those items was too close to its sell-by date, but our shopper felt the website was “good”, the items fairly priced and the status updates “really helpful”.
Taking last place this week was Amazon on 76 points, largely thanks to a score of seven out of 20 for availability. Of four suggested alternatives, our shopper accepted only one, meaning just 30 items turned up. The driver was polite and pleasant, and the overall experience was “straightforward”.
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