Co-op Food named worst supermarket for in-store satisfaction

The Co-op Group’s Co-operative Food stores have come bottom of the table in the Which? supermarket survey for the third year in a row.

The annual survey looks at all aspects of the shopping experience – whether online or in-store. Co-op Food once again found itself bottom of the pile for in-store customer satisfaction.

Co-op Food received a satisfaction level of 57% as customers complained of items not being in stock, poor value for money and a small range of products. At the top of the rankings, Waitrose was named best in-store for the second year in a row with a score of 75%.

A spokesperson for Co-op Food said: “This backward looking survey does not reflect the massive strides we have taken recently.

“Our prices are lower, our produce is fresher and our products more exciting than they have ever been. And that’s why the latest market share data out last week showed Co-op as the fastest growing and most frequently visited supermarket.”

For the first time, Iceland was named best online store – leapfrogging Waitrose and Ocado into first place. Asda received the lowest rating for online, but fared better in value for money.

Which? surveyed 7009 people in November 2015 who were asked only to comment on supermarkets where they shopped themselves. The most popular complaints across the board concerned long queues at tills, items being out of stock, misleading special offers and prices changing too much.

Which? director of campaigns Alex Neil said: “While value for money remains a high priority, people want special offers to genuinely be special and they want a pleasant in-store shopping experience.

“When it comes to online shopping, we know convenient and low-cost delivery slots are prominent factors in where people choose to shop.”