A strong fresh produce section helped Tesco Trowbridge secure the win this week. The fruit & veg on offer looked fresh, and products in general were displayed neatly. Although stock replenishment was taking place, no obstruction was caused, and the store scored highly for availability. Three members of staff stepped in to help find the IPA, and there was no queue at the checkout.

There was a slight queue to enter the car park at Sainsbury’s Beeston, but the store itself was “spacious and well laid out.” When help was required, an employee located a more knowledgeable colleague. However the scanning at the checkouttook a bit longer than expected.

At Morrisons Norwich there were long tailbacks into the store, but despite this it “didn’t seem too busy” inside. There were a number of empty shelves and not enough bag dispensers in the fruit & veg section. Produce looked of “poor quality” and no staff members were available to check at the back for products not on shelves.

Waitrose Whetstone had strong availability but the store was described as “grim.” There were unmanned trolleys, and cages littered the aisles. A broken cereal box was spotted. Staff were hard to find and didn’t check for products.

Many ‘round pound’ offers were available at Asda Burgh Heath but displays looked “tired.” The layout wasn’t always logical: the deli counter was at the opposite side of the store to chilled. There was no checkout queue, but the assistant didn’t make eye contact or say goodbye. Availability levels were comparatively poor.