‘Intuitive’ Sainsbury’s is best supermarket in Guildford & Woking

Guildford and Woking are two towns in Surrey with very different vibes, located just seven miles apart and connected in seven minutes by a single stop on South Western Railway.

It doesn’t feel uncharitable to say Guildford is the prettier of the two, given its cobbled streets, historic buildings and more than 160 independent businesses. With good shopping, restaurants, pubs and nightlife – partly due to the strong presence of students from the University of Surrey – and countryside to match in the famed Surrey Hills, Guildford is generally seen as one of the most desirable places to live in the south east.

Nearby Woking, meanwhile, feels like more of a modern commuter town – alive with regeneration and boasting excellent transport connections, including fast trains to London Waterloo in around 25 minutes. Its more diverse population enjoys an array of restaurants and shopping along with cultural opportunities provided by the New Victoria Theatre and The Lightbox museum and gallery.

The two towns may offer rather different ambience, but they are connected by one key strand: wealth. There are four times the national average of people here who fall into the Luxury Lifestyles demographic, according to CACI, which adds that the Guildford & Woking catchment is “defined by concentrated affluence and professional/family wealth” and has a “near-total absence of the UK’s lower-income” segments.

Indeed, Guildford & Woking is one of very few Grocer 33 catchments where the number of Aldi or Lidl stores (one each) is outnumbered by Waitrose (three) and even this week’s guest retailer M&S (two). Nonetheless, it was Sainsbury’s on Redding Way, about three miles outside Woking, that took the win with 86 points. The giant 71,228 sq ft store was comfortably this week’s biggest, and it duly obliged with the only perfect score for availability.

Our shopper was also pleased to be “able to find everything relatively easily” thanks to “clear and visible” signage, “wide” aisles and an “intuitive” layout – though “several restocking trolleys caused some issues passing other customers”. The food to go and specialist counters were “attractively presented”, but the car park “wasn’t big enough and not that easy to navigate”. Overall, this was “a good store, and I’d shop there again if I lived a bit closer”.

Six miles south, on the outskirts of Guildford about half a mile from the university campus, Tesco on Ashenden Road clinched second with 83 points – three not-stocked items hitting the 42,958 sq ft store hard. Our shopper praised the “approachable and helpful” staff, who were “easily found” and wielded tablet devices to inform shoppers where a product was located. Unfortunately, her visit coincided with the store’s fridges being changed, meaning the store felt “busy and chaotic” in places – although she felt that considering the disruption the store remained well organised overall.

Located on the other side of the university and a mile to the north of Guildford town centre, guest retailer M&S on Europa Park Road took third with 76. Our shopper praised the 15,000 sq ft store’s staff, especially the colleague who “really went out of her way” to help him find the fried rice. He also liked the “good value” offers and noted that a team member smiled at him as he entered the store, which gave the impression that “the store was friendly”. On the downside, the cashier “was scanning quicker than I could pack, so I wasn’t able to take as much care as I would have liked when packing”.

Just two points back in fourth was Waitrose on York Road in Guildford town centre. Our shopper found staff “well presented and helpful” and “felt very well taken care of” when she realised the cashier was “reordering my shopping so he scanned the heavier items first to make it better for me to pack”. Unfortunately, the “fridges, fruits & veg were not very tidy” and “lots of products were not pulled to the front of the shelves, so it was difficult to see what was in stock”. Furthermore, the store is “quite dark” and “a little tired”, which would make our shopper “more likely to visit M&S in this area, as it’s more airy and less tired”.

One point behind in fifth was Asda on Forsyth Road in Woking. Our shopper described it as a “very large and bright store” with a “comprehensive offering of products” and “plenty of staff visible”. He especially liked the Asian food selection and the special offers on beer, as well as “the large and free car park”. However, he would have liked “an additional manned checkout” and found the reductions on food near its sell-by date to be “so small you may as well buy the full-price version with longer shelf life”.

A whopping 23 points back in last place was Morrisons on Goldsworth Road, just half a mile outside Woking town centre. A zero score on availability kicked things off badly for Morrisons, thanks to four out-of-stocks and two items not stocked at this week’s third-largest store. Our shopper did find the staff “very attentive and helpful” and the deli and fish counters “impressive”, but the store was “pretty tired throughout” with “chipped flooring and old ceilings”. There were also numerous products “just left abandoned on various aisles” in a store that felt “messy throughout” and “pretty chaotic” thanks to conspicuous pickers and “a lot of products we couldn’t get”.