With 72 points, Waitrose in Salisbury came out top on this Friday evening shop, but like mystery shops we conducted at the other mults many shelves looked bare.
Our mystery shopper found three of her items out of stock. She particularly noticed some essential aisles were either low or out of stock, such as bread, crisps and drinks. One of the fresh food counters was also “completely stripped bare”.
On a more positive note, the fish and meat counters looked attractive, and while the store featured quite a lot of Christmas displays, it was still spacious enough for customers to roam around freely, further helped by the store being quiet.
The store was also neat and tidy, with staff members busy restocking shelves. They were all helpful and polite, particularly one of the till assistants.
Morrisons came second with 68 points, providing an “easy, stress-free” experience. In contrast to our winner, the retailer’s Doxford, Sunderland branch was very busy at the end of the week. But our visitor pointed out this was the “neatest, tidiest superstore” she had visited in some time.
The Christmas-themed displays looked attractive and had plenty of offers. The deli, pizza and food-to-go counters impressed for how well stocked and attractively laid out they were. One whole section dedicated to party items was worthy of “full marks”.
However, the store also struggled with availability – some areas, like fruit & veg, had numerous gaps. Still, our visitor managed to take home 31 items, with only two out of stock.
Sainsbury’s Leven branch scored 66 points despite struggling with availability this week. Five of our 33 grocery items were out of stock while four were not stocked – leaving our shopper quite frustrated.
Nevertheless, she thought the shop had a solid range of products and plenty of staff around to help find items. The special offer displays were not particularly eye-catching, but the Christmas displays looked good. All in all, the store had a great atmosphere and “a cheery feeling” to it.
Asda’s branch in Basingstoke trailed behind with 59 points, also experiencing supply issues. Our shopper ticked off 27 items on her grocery list as four were out of stock and two were not stocked.
Fresh produce looked rather bare in some sections. On the other hand, the Christmas displays were well stocked and looked attractive. A restocking trolley had been left unattended by the stationery aisle.
Staff were one of the highlights of this shop – they were friendly, chatty and efficient, and appeared to be happy in their work. Our visitor felt this was a “pleasant” experience on the whole.
Tesco in Streatham failed to impress and garnered only 32 points after our shopper described the experience as a “chore of a shop with little delight”. It took her a considerable amount of time to find a trolley and there were long queues for all sorts of services.
The store itself felt rather messy, with several misplaced items throughout the aisles. Some unattended restocking trolleys were causing obstruction, and there was a member of staff attending a spillage with paper towels rather than a mop.
The shop floor also felt very understaffed, and colleagues were not engaging when approached.
Stock levels were good and there were plenty of alternatives. But by the end, our shopper “just wanted to leave”.
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