Tesco won this week’s special shop across the retailers’ most eco-friendly stores.
Its energy-efficient Lincoln branch scored 93 points, standing out for its excellent customer service. Plenty of staff were available on the shop floor to help our shopper locate items, and were happy to look up items on their devices. An efficient checkout added to the “pleasant experience”.
Availability was also strong: all 33 items were available.
The store has a number of eco-friendly measures in place. Its fridges use CO2, which has a lower environmental impact than traditional refrigerants. The store also harvests rainwater to use in its toilets. Plus, our shopper noted a basket for collecting second-hand make-up.
Waitrose Chipping Sodbury came in second with 86 points.
The branch uses a wood-fuelled biomass boiler, kerbs made out of recycled plastic bags, LED lighting and a low-carbon refrigeration system.
Meanwhile, the fruit & veg counter offers advice on how to prevent food waste.
On the whole, store standards were strong, but there was a broken and empty freezer and several missing ceiling tiles, plus a wet floor and buckets.
Our shopper noted the food counters – which included fish, meat, deli and bakery – all looked great.
Staff were also very helpful, and assisted our shopper with items that were out of stock or difficult to locate. There was no queue at the checkout and our shopper was served by an efficient, pleasant assistant.
Asda Holme Well Road in Leeds was third with 77 points.
The sustainable store offers dozens of fresh produce lines sold loose. Our shopper also noted the bottle return facility and the opportunity to buy a range of products in a reusable container from refill stations.
Messaging urged customers to ‘Choose Loose’ and aimed to get customers to think about saving energy.
Staff were mostly helpful and friendly, but one only pointed our shopper in the general direction of an item rather than taking her there.
There was one person queueing at the checkout, and due to an issue with payment, our shopper had to wait a couple of minutes to be served.
In a high-scoring week overall, Sainsbury’s flagship eco-store in Hook and Morrisons Clacton came in last place with 72 points each.
Sainsbury’s Hook Farm collects rainwater for reuse, while air from the fridges is reused in other areas of the store.
The store also includes doors on chilled cabinets to reduce energy demands, LED lighting, and solar panels on the roof.
Our shopper was impressed by the cleanliness of the store: “I could have eaten my dinner off the floor!” The shop was calm and welcoming and the lighting was easy on the eye.
The food-to-go section was inviting and well maintained, but our shopper was unable to purchase seven items, leading to an availability score of zero.
The low-carbon Morrisons store has hundreds of loose products, fridges powered by CO2 from agricultural waste and roof solar panels. It also collects rainwater for toilets, and is near zero waste back of house.
The store was spacious, clean and airy with plenty of room between aisles, but promotional displays did not stand out.
Our shopper encountered a number of staff and all were helpful and friendly. The checkout was problem-free.
Availability was again the kicker: three items were out of stock and one not stocked.
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