Waitrose Meanwood offers best festive shop in Leeds

Once at the heart of the industrial revolution, thanks to its textile and wool production, Leeds has evolved into a lively, modern city renowned for its culture, history and nightlife, with a youthful, creative atmosphere fuelled by three universities.

The city is famous for its shopping opportunities – with the Victoria Quarter, Trinity Leeds and Kirkgate Market among the highlights – and has evolved into one of the UK’s most important finance hubs outside London. It also has a proud history in the grocery sector: Asda’s HQ is in Leeds, and the company has played a significant role in the city’s economy for decades.

Nonetheless, according to CACI, Leeds remains a city “defined less by affluence and suburban wealth, and more by youthful renters, diverse urban families and communities navigating financial constraints – making it a market where affordability, inclusivity and everyday value resonate most strongly”. Indeed, the area’s weekly grocery spend per household of £103.89 is the 12th-lowest in the country – in theory a good spot, then, for our special budget Christmas shop this week.

It was a close-run thing, too, with the two local northern powerhouses Asda and Morrisons pipped by just three points by Waitrose on 86. Its 27,000 sq ft store on Green Road in the up-and-coming neighbourhood of Meanwood offered a weak showing on availability – one of many this week – but otherwise performed superbly in all areas.

Our shopper has shopped here before because “the quality of the food is always exceptional”, although the prices mean it’s a store she reserves for “special occasions”. She noted the “wide aisles” and easy-to-navigate layout, as well as the café that “smelt lovely” thanks to the waft of “freshly baked products”.

A perfect score on customer service came thanks to staff who “were wearing seasonal items and contributed to the festive atmosphere within the store”. Not only that, they were “easily available on nearly every aisle” and “all seemed to have a smile and take their time with you – no rushing off or making you feel like a nuisance”. Overall, our shopper “liked this store immensely”.

A two-way tie played out for second place, with both Asda and Morrisons scoring 83. Located on a small retail park about five miles east of the city centre on Killingbeck Drive, Asda’s 52,658 sq ft superstore posted this week’s best performance on availability – though that only meant 14 points out of the possible 20.

It did much better in most other areas, though, with customer service a standout. Our shopper noted the staff member who retrieved the J2O from the warehouse, as well as the “very attentive” colleague who helped with a prosecco enquiry.

She also enjoyed the ‘Grinch arch’, which brought “a seasonal vibe”, though the store fared less well on tills & availability, where there was a delay at the manned checkout and “the queues could have been managed better if there was a staff member in that area”.

About 7.5 miles away, this time to the west of the city centre, Morrisons in Kirkstall will be cursing its availability score of eight, which proved the difference between first and second. Our shopper said she “can’t fault this store”, thanks to its “brilliant” layout, plentiful promotions and tidy, wide aisles. Despite usually using Asda for her big shop, “after visiting today, I would definitely return [here] to do a larger shop”.

She was pleased with the “easy checkout” experience, and “even though this was a busy Sunday morning, there was nothing frustrating about the shop” in this “easy-to-navigate” store with “friendly” staff.

In the residential neighbourhood of Seacroft, five miles from the city centre, lies a gargantuan 81,232 sq ft Tesco Extra. Despite its epic proportions, however, the store posted the joint-worst performance on availability, with just eight points.

Elsewhere, our shopper was pleased to see “loads” of staff around and though her interactions were “pleasant” she felt “they could have done more”. She was also “really impressed” by the large Holland & Barrett inside but noted that “some aisles had no signage”.

It’s also “a pet hate of mine that Tesco stick freezer stuff in the middle”, while she felt the biggest improvement could be made at the entrance – “a few plants, containers of de-icer, a concrete floor and some cheap cardboard decorations does not a festive welcome make”.

Almost 20 points further back came Sainsbury’s in White Rose Shopping Centre to the south of the city, which our shopper described as “very bright and busy but run down in some elements”.

Our shopper liked the “wide range” of products but found there were too many promotional stands, which not only obstructed her shop but “all looked scruffy, tired or had limited stock”. The worst thing, though, was the “space management”, with our shopper finding “the aisles need to be wider in some areas” and that “a lot of items weren’t actually located in their relevant aisle and were only findable in promotional locations”.