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Supermarkets reviewed: compare the best and worst

We've surveyed more than 3,000 shoppers to find the UK's best supermarkets for both in-store and online grocery shopping
Hannah WalshSenior researcher & writer
Ellie SimmondsSenior researcher & writer

Each year we survey thousands of shoppers and combine their opinions with expert Which? analysis and investigation results to bring you the definitive guide to the UK's best and worst supermarkets.

With food prices crippling many households and supermarkets hitting the headlines almost every day (not always for the right reasons), it's more important than ever that you know where to head for excellent customer service, quality produce and unbeatable value for money.

Our best and worst supermarkets guide reveals which grocers are rising to the challenge and impressing customers – and which are falling short.

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Best in-store supermarkets 2024

The table shows which supermarkets offer the best and worst in-store shopping experience. You can find out more below about how individual supermarkets performed.

76%
73%
72%
70%
70%
69%
68%

Note: Results are based on an online survey of 3,141 members of the public who are solely or jointly responsible for grocery shopping in their household (Oct-Nov 2023). Sample sizes in brackets. Customer score is based on satisfaction with the brand and the likelihood to recommend. A dash (-) means we didn't have a enough responses to give a rating. Scores for online supermarkets include click and collect and home delivery, where applicable.

Best online supermarkets 2024

This table reveals the best supermarkets if you're ordering online or via an app for home delivery or click and collect.

80%
78%
RECOMMENDED PROVIDER
78%
RECOMMENDED PROVIDER
75%
75%
70%
67%

Note: Results are based on an online survey of 3,141 members of the public who are solely or jointly responsible for grocery shopping in their household (Oct-Nov 2023). Sample sizes in brackets. Customer score is based on satisfaction with the brand and the likelihood to recommend. A dash (-) means we didn't have a enough responses to give a rating. Scores for online supermarkets include click and collect and home delivery, where applicable.

 Supermarket reviews

You can find out more about the supermarkets in our survey, and what customers really thought of them, below. Supermarkets are listed in alphabetical order and links take you to the retailers' websites.

Loyalty card pricing: is it worth signing up?

Hannah Walsh, senior researcher and writer, says:

'Supermarkets are constantly bidding for your business. Loyalty card pricing, where members pay less than the original price, is just one of the ways they aim to keep you coming back - and it's here to stay. 

'Tesco now only offers promotions in the form of Clubcard prices, and Sainsbury's rolled out a huge swathe of Nectar prices last year. Morrisons is upping the number of loyalty prices it offers, and Waitrose has introduced a selection too. 

'Our survey found a huge 94% of Tesco’s in-store shoppers were Clubcard members and for Sainsbury’s Nectar it was 85% - unsurprising given the huge push by both. But is it worth signing up? 

'Our investigations have shown that even with a Clubcard or Nectar card, it's still cheaper to shop at Aldi and Lidl (based on a basket of 43 popular groceries). If you plan to shop at Tesco or Sainsbury's anyway, though, then there are savings to be made by using a loyalty card - our May 2023 research found that you could save 7.4% at Tesco and 5.7% at Sainsbury's. 

'It's not just about overall price, either - we want to make sure that you're able to pick out the best deal wherever and however you shop. We tracked the prices of 141 member-only offers at Tesco and Sainsbury’s over six months (to June 2023), and found that almost a third were at their ‘regular’ price for less than half that time. So that great-looking deal may not be quite as good as it first appears. 

'If your local or most frequented supermarket uses loyalty pricing, like mine does, then it's likely a good idea to sign up to the scheme. I don't relish handing over my data knowing that supermarkets make hundreds of millions of pounds from it (The Times), but it makes a difference. On a recent shopping trip I bought a pack of nappies for £4.95 instead of £10 using my loyalty card - an offer too tempting to pass up.'

Supermarket frustrations

We asked people what they found most annoying about shopping with supermarkets in-store or online. (Respondents were able to choose multiple answers, so percentages don't add up to 100%.)

Shopping in-store

  • 27% - not enough staffed checkouts
  • 25% - long queues at the checkout
  • 17% - shelves were not well stocked
  • 13% - couldn't find products easily
  • 13% - obstructions in the aisles 

Shopping online

  • 33% - an item I wanted was not available
  • 14% - budget items or ranges weren't available
  • 11% - items I chose were substituted
  • 9% - it was difficult to compare products
  • 9% - poor search and filtering on the website or app
  • 9% - it was was difficult to discover new products
  • 9% - perishable goods weren't fresh or didn't have a reasonable shelf life

Find out more: food price inflation

How do we find the UK's best and worst supermarkets?

We surveyed 3,141 members of the public in October and November 2023 for our annual supermarkets survey, quizzing them on their experiences with the supermarkets they use most often.

For those who did their shopping in-store, we asked them to rate the shop's appearance as well as queuing times and the self-service or self-scanning options. We also asked whether there are friendly staff available to help with any queries.

For online shoppers, we asked about click and collect as well as delivery services. Customers were asked to rate whether there's usually a good choice of collection and delivery time slots, whether they got sensible substitutions and how good the communication is around collection or delivery.

We asked both in-store and online shoppers about value for money, overall customer service, stock availability and the quality of own-label and fresh products. 

We also asked how satisfied shoppers are on the whole with their supermarket and whether they would recommend it. These two questions allow us to calculate our Which? customer scores.

Which? Recommended Providers criteria

We use a number of criteria to determine which supermarkets will become Which? Recommended Providers (WRPs), including:

  • customer score over 70% and in top statistical banding, or top two supermarkets if there aren’t enough in top band
  • three stars or more for value for money, quality and customer service (including overall and staff availability and helpfulness for in-store, and overall and communication regarding collection and delivery for online)
  • commitment to front-of-pack traffic-light nutritional labelling (a long-standing campaign call).

We also consider other factors including whether the supermarket has any two-star ratings, findings from relevant investigations, and whether it has failed to meet key Which? campaign calls.

Which? Affordable Food for All campaign

Which? launched an Affordable Food for All campaign after we found millions of families are skipping meals to survive the cost of living crisis. 

In an innovative study, undertaken with researchers from the Consumer Data Research Centre at the University of Leeds, we've identified 50 of the most at-risk areas for finding affordable food in the UK.

We're calling on supermarkets to commit to clear pricing, better access to budget ranges that enable healthy choices, and more offers for those who need them most.