Morrisons on top with best supermarket in Croydon

Some would tell you that Croydon in south London is its own city within a city. London’s largest borough by population and thus one of its busiest, the area combines big-city energy with suburban elements and a strong community feel that many put down to its diverse and multicultural residents.

The area also offers an exciting food and arts scene and, surprisingly to some, more green space than most neighbouring boroughs, including more than 120 parks. Connectivity is also a big draw for Croydon: it’s home to the capital’s only tram network and swift train connections to central London rail hubs in less than 20 minutes.

This, allied with lower housing costs compared with much of the capital, makes the area popular with commuters, first-time buyers and, increasingly, with young professionals priced out of central London. Despite its upwardly mobile direction of travel, though, Croydon remains an area of contrasts, with CACI pointing out that it over-indexes most dramatically in its demographics tenant living (17.8% vs a national average of 6.9%) and urban diversity (14.8% vs 3.3%) – young families and students in ethnically diverse urban centres with low disposable income and high unemployment.

This week’s winner is located about 1.5 miles south west of the area’s main transport hub, East Croydon Station, in the functional, mid-range area of Waddon. The 36,476 sq ft Morrisons on Purley Way sealed the retailer’s first Grocer 33 win since late February thanks to outstanding customer service and a great store experience.

Our shopper said the “best thing” about the shop was the “friendly staff members who made me feel valued as a customer”. But she also found it “tidy overall” and “easy to move around”, although there were “a few gaps on the shelves and empty boxes left behind”. Meanwhile, the car park “could have been better as the trolley park was overflowing, which caused an obstruction for cars”.

Three points back but almost four miles from the town centre in the quieter, leafier South Croydon, Waitrose on Limpsfield Road took second place with 83. It matched our winner on availability with one item out of stock, but the most memorable element for our shopper was that “I don’t think I’ve ever found it easier to get assistance when I needed it”.

High praise indeed, though our shopper noted that the high number of staff did in fact come with a disadvantage, in that “there were a few more obstructions than I felt comfortable with”. Overall, though, this was a “generally attractive” store with a “friendly feel” and an “extremely well stocked and presented” fruit & veg department.

Just over two miles west, in equally suburban Purley, Tesco on Purley Road took third place with 81 points. Our shopper described the store as “relatively new” and was “impressed by the number of staff available to help”, all of whom were “friendly, professional and helpful”. Although he found the store “appeared generally very well stocked”, our shopper was disappointed to find two items out of stock – no doubt exacerbated given the store’s gargantuan 71,263 sq ft proportions.

Fourth place this week went to Sainsbury’s on Trafalgar Way, a retail park about a mile or so from the centre of Croydon. The 55,950 sq ft store posted this week’s best performance on availability, with just one item not stocked, and our shopper praised the “pleasant ambience” too, describing it as having “a community feel” despite its size.

This spaciousness made “navigating it relaxing”, though our shopper noted it was “quite old” and “slightly tired” and suggested the main improvement to the store would be “some refurbishment”.

Just over 10 minutes’ walk away, Asda on Marlowe Way took last place this week. The store was not helped by a zero score for availability, with five items out of stock despite coming in at 50,111 sq ft.

Our shopper also found the entrance “somewhat hidden” and potentially “confusing” because it “was not immediately obvious where to enter the store”. She suggested a refurb or redesign to make this element “more visible, welcoming and appealing, particularly for first-time visitors”.

However, she did praise the staff, who went “above and beyond” and were “consistently friendly, approachable and attentive throughout my visit”. This, she added, “created a very positive shopping experience”.