Aldi is best store in South Shields mystery shop as friendly staff stand out

The seaside town of South Shields, not far from Newcastle, is renowned for its friendly locals, Roman roots (the local fort was a major supply base for Hadrian’s Wall) and stunning natural scenery. Rugged cliffs provide a dramatic backdrop for popular coastal walks, while Sandhaven Beach was crowned the UK’s best beach by The Sunday Times in 2022, thanks to its “theme park, sweeping dunes, top-notch surfing and a dollop of civic pride”.

Despite its beauty, this charming resort town and its surrounds is not a prosperous area by UK standards. According to South Tyneside Council’s most recent figures, 62.4% of residents are in employment vs a national average of 75.8%, showing a high level of unemployment within the borough.

The relative affordability of housing, coastal location and connectivity mean quality of life remains good in South Shields, but the area ranks the lowest in the UK for average weekly grocery spend per household at £102.09, according to CACI. It overindexes most on the demographic Low Income Living at 34% vs a national average of 13.3%, suggesting a high presence of “families and single parents with young children in socially rented houses, often claiming benefits with very low disposable income”, CACI adds.

The area’s demographics might help explain the absence of a Waitrose in this week’s Super Grocer 33, which was dominated by the two guest discounters. The winner was Aldi on Chichester Road, less than a mile from South Shields metro station, with 86 points. The 13,552 sq ft store was this week’s best performer on availability, with just one item not stocked, while our shopper praised the “easy-to-navigate” layout and “well-presented” food-to-go section. But it was customer service where Aldi really left its mark, thanks to “very upbeat and friendly” staff that were “easy to find” and made our shopper “really feel like a valued customer”.

Just three points back in second place was Lidl, a 10-minute walk round the corner on Laygate. Our shopper said the best thing about his shop was the ease of navigation, noting that the store’s layout “flowed very naturally”. He also found it “clean and tidy” and “very attractive throughout”, with “enticing” seasonal displays in the foyer and “generally well-stocked” shelves. There was “nothing I disliked” about the store, though the checkout staff “did not ask if I had the loyalty app”.

Slap bang in the town centre on Ocean Road, Morrisons took third place with 78 points. Our shopper described the store as a little “dated” but “relatively clean and tidy” with “good stock levels”. She also praised the layout, the “well-presented” counters and found the staff “helpful and upbeat”, but disliked “the volume of unmanned trolleys and cages that were present in multiple locations around the store”.

A 10-minute walk through South Shields’ central shopping area, there was very little drama as Asda on Coronation Street posted a respectable 75 points to take fourth place. Our shopper was disappointed with the state of the car park, where there was “a lot of litter and spillages”. But she praised the counters and specialist departments for their “good selection of products” and said the best thing about her shop was “the friendly manner in which I was assisted on the shop floor and at the checkout area” – even if it was “hard to find a colleague” during her visit.

About 2.5 miles out of town to the southwest, the nearest Tesco picked up 67 points, not helped by five items not being stocked. The store was another with “lots of litter strewn around the car park” and unmanned trolleys and cages “in several places”. However, our shopper did heartily praise “the way I was made to feel by the colleague who served me at the checkout”. She “loved” the service from this staff member, who was “friendly, attentive, swift and took time to engage with me”.

Also well out of the town centre, Sainsbury’s on Prince Edward Road came last this week with 61 points. The tiny 6,911 sq ft store posted a staggering 11 items not stocked but excelled on customer service, where it scored a perfect 20. Our shopper felt “respected and valued” by the staff member she spoke with and “liked that they took an interest in my day”. However, her abiding memory of the store was “how cramped it felt and how the obstructions in multiple locations impacted the overall shopping experience”.