Ocado bests rivals in online Liverpool mystery shop

Liverpool is a city with a big personality, deep history and strong sense of community. And regeneration is taking place at pace. The city centre and waterfront area is a case in point, given its near-constant change in recent years, but increasing attention is also being paid to neighbourhoods outside the tourist core, such as north Liverpool, Edge Lane and Anfield. There’s also the city’s huge £1.6bn transport investment programme, which will result in three brand new rail stations, along with a “London-style public transport system – clean, integrated and accessible to all”, according to the Liverpool City Region’s website.

This comes hand in hand with a diversifying economy, but wage growth and productivity still lag behind UK averages, while inequality between neighbourhoods remains stark – leading to debates about who the city is being built for. Indeed, according to CACI, Liverpool has nearly three times the national average of people in the ‘low income living’ demographic (36.3% vs 13.3%).

There are more Aldi, Lidl and Asda stores in Liverpool than any other supermarkets, but the city is well served online including guests Ocado and Amazon, in our Online Grocer 33 mystery shop this week. And for the second online special in a row, Ocado clinched victory – albeit by just one point with a total of 93.

Our shopper rates Ocado as “my favourite” for online shopping thanks to the “high-quality items” and because “they have real-time availability”, which means it is “very rare” to have items substituted. “It’s really reassuring knowing you’ll get exactly what you chose without any surprises,” she said. . Indeed, Ocado was one of only two retailers that delivered 100% availability. Our shopper also praised the “quick, easy to use” search bar and liked the “friendly and professional” delivery driver, though she did point out that “certain products feel a bit more expensive compared to other supermarkets”.

Two retailers shared second place with 92 points, and for Sainsbury’s a slightly lower availability score made the difference. Nonetheless, our shopper praised the “quick and easy” website navigation and said that building her basket “couldn’t have been easier  and being kept well informed about any changes or issues She also said the driver was “on time and really friendly” and offered to carry the two big crates of shopping inside to the kitchen. “I honestly can’t think of anything I could say was bad,” our shopper said of the whole experience.

Another outstanding score of 92 was posted by Tesco, which provided perfect availability. Our shopper enjoyed the “speedy” building of her basket on the website and noted that offers were “clearly marked”, and found being kept informed of exact delivery timing “extremely helpful”. She was also pleased to be informed of the three-day use-by date on the salmon in the morning and had it “reiterated to me in person” by the driver, who was “professional, well dressed  and extremely pleasant with great communication skills”.

Fourth place this week went to Asda with 80 points. The retailer had three items unavailable, which our shopper described as “inconvenient”. She liked the “quick and effective” search function and  “straightforward and reliable” delivery and ordering process and the “good value” promotions on offer. but did “dislike the amount of promotional content displayed at once, as it can feel overwhelming and cluttered” on the website.

Next up was Waitrose with 74 points. Our shopper said the website was “visually appealing, easy to navigate and uncluttered, which is an important factor for me”. She also “appreciated” the lack of bags used in the delivery “from an environmental perspective” and said the driver was “friendly and polite and handled the items with care”. She was less keen on the “missed offers” displayed during checkout, describing the prompts as “intrusive” and “irritating at the point of completion”.

Ten points back in sixth, Morrisons struggled on availability with four items unavailable and one missing. Our shopper found the site “easy to navigate” but noted that “in some cases, when putting in the full item description nothing came up” and in fact a “general description” was required. She uses Morrisons online “every few months” and said she has “never had an unhelpful or impolite driver”, though it is “a little annoying having to go through a few pages of items” to checkout.

Last place this week went to Amazon, the only retailer to provide free delivery. Six items were unavailable, resulting in this week’s only zero score for availability. There was also “no real interaction” with the delivery driver and it “was clear they wanted to deliver the items as quickly as possible”.