Solihull’s best supermarket in Grocer 33 mystery shop is 68,000 sq ft Tesco Extra

Solihull ranks among the most affluent towns in the UK, known for its green spaces, good schools, and a high standard of living. Located to the south east of Birmingham, it boasts excellent connectivity and thus commuter appeal. Trains take less than 20 minutes to Birmingham city centre and under two hours to London, while the eventual opening of HS2 is expected to benefit the area substantially – to the tune of a £14bn regional economic boost, according to the West Midlands Combined Authority.

The town, with a population of 111,000, offers high-end shopping at the Touchwood Shopping Centre – home to the likes of Oliver Bonas, L’Occitane and John Lewis – along with independent shops and cafés outside the town centre in pockets such as Dovehouse Parade. And there’s an even distribution of supermarkets to cater for all tastes and budgets.

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But Solihull overindexes massively on CACI’s two wealthiest demographics, with more than double the national average of those enjoying ‘luxury lifestyles’ and ‘established affluence’. The 68,880 sq ft Tesco on Stratford Road, at the southern end of Solihull, appeals to these demographics – and with perfect availability, a logical layout and “well displayed” products it was the best performing supermarket in our mystery shopping competition with 93 points.

The shopper also praised the staff, who “were all friendly” and “happy to help”. Her only gripe was the fact the Walkers crisps were not out on display despite being in stock.

On the same road, Asda was a distant second with a score of 65. Our shopper found the store, located within a shopping complex, to be in “good condition” with staff that were “really helpful and engaging”. One in particular had a “lovely energy”.

However, our shopper “wouldn’t return here unless it was necessary”, thanks to a car park that was difficult to locate and “very busy”, a range that was “limited”, and a food-to-go area only accessible after exiting the main shop floor – this left our shopper “uncomfortable” and worried that security “might think I was trying to leave without paying”.

Read more:

• Asda makes it eight wins out of 10 in price comparison survey

• How Tesco store manager Steve Ady is catering to Solihull’s Finest

• What is The Grocer 33 and how does it work?

Located between these two stores, Sainsbury’s missed out on second by just one point. It matched Asda’s availability performance, with our shopper praising its “good selection of food and clothing”.

He found the staff helpful, especially the checkout assistant who “went above and beyond to save me some money”. He added that he likes the store generally but is usually put off shopping here due to the traffic, which results in accessibility issues – “it’s like trying to leave a concert car park”.

Just one point back was the Waitrose in Solihull town centre, where a nightmare on availability – six out-of-stocks and two items not stocked – can only be partly explained by the store’s 19,143 sq ft size.

Our shopper was pleased with the cleanliness of the store, saying the car park and entrance were “so attractive, clean and orderly, I already felt relaxed and ready to get shopping”.

He was just as impressed with the staff, who checked for products in “a detailed manner” and were thus able to provide accurate dates for when products would be available again. Meanwhile, the specialist counters all had “great variety” as well as “clean glass, great lighting and attentive staff”.

Morrisons took last place this week with a score of 59. Our shopper had been to this store once before but found it to be “better managed” with “more attentive” staff this time.

He praised the tidy displays including a “nice selection of flowers and plants” at the entrance – which “even interested my son” who usually “has a phone stuck to his hand”. However inside felt “a little dated and dull” and two items were out-of-stock.