The first Grocer 33 mystery shop to pit supermarkets from the same location against one another was in Ipswich, a town of 150,000 people in Suffolk still trading on its rich maritime past. And the historic dock has been regenerated into a bustling area lined with cafés, bars, restaurants, and the University of Suffolk, while the River Orwell is still a focal point of local life.
Yet it was away from the town’s central waterway where a close-fought contest played out between Morrisons and Sainsbury’s to be crowned Ipswich’s best supermarket. Both stores are located on retail parks, Morrisons to the north west and Sainsbury’s to the south east, and they both excelled in a high-scoring week across the board.
In the end, the 39,000 sq ft Morrisons on Sproughton Road came out on top with an impressive 91 points. The store’s location means it attracts a more affluent catchment than typical Morrisons stores, even if Ipswich in general overindexes most significantly with a demographic called ‘stretched society’ – a segment more likely to have low household income levels, which makes up 31% of the town’s population versus a UK average of 19.5%.
In a shop with just one item not stocked, our Morrisons shopper was impressed by the “well-stocked and attractive” deli and fresh food areas and felt the “wide and accessible” aisles and “logical” store layout made for an “easy” shop.
She reserved special praise, for the “very friendly and cheerful” staff and was “shown, rather than directed” to items.
The 63,443 sq ft Sainsbury’s on Felixstowe Road finished second despite a score of 89 points. A perfect 20 on availability was backed up by an excellent in-store experience with an “inviting” vibe and staff that “obviously work very hard”. But the shopper found it difficult to access, exit and park in the car park.
Also on the outskirts of town, sandwiched between the A14 and the A1214, Tesco at Copdock Interchange took third this week with 86 points. The store had just one item out of stock and excelled on tills and checkouts, where the cashier was “chatty and friendly” but still managed to serve customers quickly.
Eleven points back in fourth place this week was Asda on the Whitehouse Industrial Estate. Our shopper reckoned the store “looks a bit tired from the outside and does have a few areas inside which could be brightened up”, though she added there were “attractive displays” across the store.
Last place went to Waitrose at Futura Park, which performed well enough on availability with just one item out of stock, but was let down in a number of aspects – particularly store experience, with “many noticeable gaps across all areas”.
“What happened?!” wailed our shopper. “Waitrose has always been the superior supermarket in my eyes (along with M&S) and now it is just like any other!”
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