Waitrose landed its first Grocer 33 store of the week award since early September, with its Otley store scoring 82 points.
The car park was clean and tidy, as was the entire shop floor. The store was not busy for this Friday evening shop, which gave it a relaxed feeling.
Crucially, availability was significantly improved on recent weeks. The well-stocked fruit & veg section had lots of attractive-looking produce, though some products, such as bananas and potatoes, were nearly sold out. Other areas facing stock issues included crisps, water and some frozen items.
But while two items were out of stock and one was not stocked, there were similar alternatives available.
Store service and standards also impressed. Staff were all easy to find, helpful and friendly. Food counters were “appetising”. The dedicated Christmas section at the back of the store, which featured some “really nice, luxury” products, was well stocked.
A 20-point gap separated Waitrose and second-placed Asda. Our shopper visited Asda’s sustainability trial store in Leeds, which was “large, airy and clean”. However, the layout did not feel intuitive – the milk, bread and freezer sections were in the middle of the store rather than at the end for example.
There were two items out of stock (including the milk) and three items were not stocked. Fruit & veg had some empty patches, as did food to go. The bakery and pizza sections were well stocked, though.
All three members of staff our visitor spoke to were knowledgeable and happy to help – as was the checkout assistant.
Tesco in Sutton scored 52 points, largely due to poor availability – eight of our items were not available. Additionally, some of the fruit looked “a bit tired”, said our shopper. However, she noted the low supply levels could have been due to the shop time and that there were plenty of restocking trolleys around.
Despite the availability issues, she considered it a “pleasant shop” with lovely Diwali and Halloween displays. She added that the layout was intuitive, staff were pleasant (particularly the checkout assistant) and the store was of a good standard overall.
Sainsbury’s was right behind with 51 points as its Bourne branch also struggled with some “significant gaps”. Three items were out of stock, while another three were not stocked. Food to go options were limited.
In addition, some items were placed in counterintuitive sections – for example, the cooked meats were found next to the raw meat, rather than with other deli products.
The one staff member our shopper approached was friendly but not extremely helpful. Queue management was poor – only one till was open.
Morrisons’ Ripon store came last after providing a “poor shop all round”. Our visitor felt store standards were lacking and stock levels low. There were a few unmanned trolleys and evident gaps in some displays, but our visitor noted that the stock was actually in store – just not being replenished.
The store itself felt cramped, with narrow aisles and “a jumbled feel”. Our shopper was also not impressed by some members of the management team, who were busy chatting at the end of one of the aisles, causing an obstruction to customers.
The food counters were well stocked, but no one was looking after them at the time of the shop. On the other hand, the checkout attendant was pleasant and helpful.
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