It was a low-scoring Grocer 33 week, mainly because none of the retailers scored anything for availability. At the top of the ranking was Waitrose with just three out of stock items.
The Leigh-on-Sea store had plenty of plus points. Our mystery shopper raved about the eye-catching Easter display, while the food counters looked attractive and fully stocked. The helpful and polite staff – particularly the till assistant – made for a “less stressful” shopping trip.
However, she noted Waitrose was not “the “usual enjoyable experience” as store standards fell below expectations. The shop floor itself was generally clean and tidy, but the fruit & veg aisle was “scruffy” compared with other Waitroses.
Asda’s Motherwell store was one point behind with six of items out of stock and one not stocked. However, our shopper did point out stock levels were generally good. A wide range was available in store and alternatives were available.
This branch felt unwelcoming at first due to poor lighting by the entrance, though that improved inside the store. The Easter aisle by the entrance also didn’t give “a great impression” as it was busy and untidy. Plus, the heavy restocking activity in the milk aisle meant there were a few trolleys causing obstructions.
On the other hand, the store layout was good and the signage helpful. The clothing and home sections were a “nice extra”, the click & collect service seemed efficient, and staff were “extremely helpful”.
There was a 20-point gap between Asda and third-placed Tesco, whose Calne branch failed to impress our shopper. Her first impression of the store was dampened by the empty seasonal display near the entrance, while a nearby bread-filled trolley had been left unmanned and untidy. This was the case for many other areas of the store, as the busy replenishing activity resulted in lots of abandoned trolleys and cardboard boxes throughout the shop floor.
The fruit & veg aisle had a good selection of produce, but some of it was damaged. Our shopper also felt the layout was illogical in places – for example, the frozen section was located right after the produce aisle.
Even though staff were busy restocking shelves, they were the highlight of her trip and “a credit to the shop in terms of their attitude and helpfulness”.
Sainsbury’s in Penzance scored just 40 points. The branch appeared to be “under a lot of stress” and could not keep up with demand from what appeared to be a very high influx of Easter holidaymakers.
There were lots of empty shelves – especially across fruit & veg – and a shortage of shop floor colleagues, who struggled to keep up with restocking pace.
Despite low availability, store standards were generally good, and the recent introduction of Habitat and Argos made the branch an “attractive” shopping destination.
The bottom spot belonged to Morrisons’ Cribbs Causeway store, which was poorly stocked and generally untidy. Ten of the items on our list were out of stock, and two were not stocked. The produce area struggled the most, but even the Easter aisle looked fairly empty.
The store was so busy that checkout queues hindered customers trying to shop – as did restocking trolleys. However, colleagues were helpful whenever approached and checked the stockroom for items.
Other highlights included the bakery and fresh pizza counters, and logical store layout.
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