This week marked a first in the history of the Grocer 33: our inaugural blind or partially sighted (BPS) mystery shop. And for some retailers, the results were nothing short of damning.

Our exclusive, which went live this morning, revealed Asda’s appalling treatment of our BPS mystery shopper. It made for a tough read, and has already – and quite rightly – made waves across the industry.

Dene Mullen’s follow-up cover feature revealed just how difficult, frustrating and often demeaning it can be for blind and partially sighted customers just to get through a weekly shop. On paper, the supermarkets are quick to crow about their inclusive credentials, but those good intentions can get lost on the shop floor, leaving frustrated stories of “nightmare” in‑store experiences. This week’s Grocer 33 has been a wake-up call the sector can’t ignore.

Of course, we must also give credit where it is due. Our Tesco mystery shopper sung the store’s praises, saying it made her “feel safe”. The question now is whether others will learn from it.

Lessons learned

It’s been a bit of a learning curve all round this week, as Sainsbury’s also found itself in the spotlight after a shopper was wrongly ejected due to a facial recognition error. Although ultimately down to human error, the mistake offers a worrying glimpse into the future of retail security, with the wrongly-accused customer not returning to the store: “I have no interest in shopping anywhere I don’t feel safe.”

Elsewhere, Elinor Zuke revealed double‑digit declines in supermarket value ranges as Morrisons, Tesco and Sainsbury’s quietly rationalise their cheapest SKUs. Coming in the wake of a recent focus on premiumisation (and during a cost of living crisis that is showing no sign of going away any time soon), these range reductions show exactly how retailers are reshaping their pricing strategies.

Over in policy, the Commons Efra Committee publicly slammed the government’s “complete omertà” over the sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) negotiations with the EU. Committee chair Alistair Carmichael told Kevin White the lack of engagement was causing “significant anxiety” across the food sector. With animal welfare rules (such as the ban on foie gras imports) and pesticide use at stake, the sector is right to be anxious about a potentially poor deal.

My surprising headline of the week goes to asking whether or not GLP-1 appetite supressants could actually make food more sustainable. We all know by now that increasing numbers of people are taking the drugs, but how does that translate into creating a better food system? Well, in a number of different ways, apparently, as Charles Elliman sets out – but the broad theory is that people will be eating “smaller amounts of higher-quality food”, potentially nudging farming incentives in a different direction. ‘Potentially’ being the operative word here.

It’s not all lost appetites and functional food; the drinks landscape is shifting too, with James Beeson’s report on the slowdown in low & no sales suggesting Dry Jan’s grip is loosening. Shoppers are opting for year‑round moderation rather than all‑or‑nothing abstinence, while Gen Z (which was, let’s face it, never that fussed about alcohol in the first place) is showing less appetite for booze “replacements”. The rise of adult soft drinks such as Trip, Fever-Tree and Fentimans (this week snapped up by AG Barr) is no coincidence.

Smoking rates are also continuing to decline, although one type of tobacco product is still booming. With illegal cigarettes now accounting for more than one in four cigs smoked in the UK, George Nott investigates what’s being done to stub out sales of illegal tobacco products (pun fully intended).

Amid all this, GroceryAid’s rebrand brings a welcome reminder of support. Speaking to Kieran Hemsworth and Rami Baitiéh, we explored how the charity hopes to reach more workers, and with financial and emotional strain rising across the industry, the charity’s offer feels particularly pertinent.

As always, this is just a snapshot of the brilliant journalism in this week’s issue and online. We haven’t even touched on Aldi’s £22m of price cuts, the excellent Waitrose advert, the ups and downs of salmon farming, continued pistachio mania or the continued conversations around the government’s HFSS plans…

And as ever, we’d love to hear what you think. Drop me a line at jacqui@thegrocer.co.uk, and have a great weekend.

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