What Mystery Shopping Reveals About the Best UK Supermarkets for Customer Experience
As part of our ongoing mystery shopping activity across the UK retail sector, we recently explored what shoppers are really experiencing in the nation’s leading supermarkets . At the start of the Golden Quarter, our team of professional Mystery Shoppers visited the eight major UK supermarket brands to uncover which retailer offers the best overall customer experience.
Why Use Mystery Shopping to Measure Customer Experience?
Mystery shopping is one of the most effective and objective CX measurement methods for assessing real-world service and identifying opportunities for improvement.
Our expert ABa Mystery Shoppers visited 10 towns across the UK, each offering a wide selection of supermarkets, and objectively evaluated stores against our customer experience benchmarking framework.
“Apart from some displays that needed straightening, the overall impression was of a well-stocked and tidy, clean store. I received a mixed standard of service. At the till I was just processed, but on the shop floor the colleague was friendly and more than happy to take me to the requested product.”
We assessed three key drivers of customer satisfaction:
- Presentation: Store environment & facilities, product displays & quality
- Colleagues: Service and helpfulness when assistance was needed
- Queues: Checkout choice, queue management and overall service quality
Mystery Shopping Results: Waitrose Leads the Way
Overall, Waitrose delivered the strongest customer experience, achieving an impressive score of 85.1% and a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 70.
| Rank | Brand | Overall Total % | NPS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Waitrose | 85.1% | 70.0 |
| 2nd | M&S Food | 84.7% | 60.0 |
| 3rd | Morrisons | 83.5% | 20.0 |
| Supermarket average | 81.0% | 22.5 |
“The store was clean, tidy, and well stocked. All colleagues were helpful and cheerful, and the service was efficient, complemented by attractive delicatessen, meat, and fish counters.”
Regional Insights from Mystery Shopping
Our Mystery Shopping data revealed a noticeable North/South divide in supermarket performance. Waitrose and Asda stores in the North provided a stronger customer experience than their counterparts in the South, while other brands maintained more consistent CX scores nationwide.
Where Customer Experience Differs Most
The difference between the top and bottom-ranked supermarkets was 8.8 percentage points (pp), showing how much the customer experience can vary by brand.
The greatest differences were seen within Store Environment, Shop Floor Service and Checkout Service.
| Focus | Highest % | Lowest % | Range | Top performing brand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exterior & Facilities | 91.3% | 81.3% | 10.0pp | Waitrose |
| Store Environment | 94.0% | 71.0% | 23.0pp | M&S Food |
| Product Check | 100.0% | 94.3% | 5.7pp | M&S Food & Tesco |
| Shop Floor Service | 87.5% | 66.3% | 21.2pp | Waitrose |
| Queue Management | 90.0% | 77.5% | 12.5pp | Waitrose |
| Checkout Service | 86.0% | 67.0% | 19.0pp | Sainsbury’s |
What Shoppers Value Most
While price remains a key factor, we know that individual shoppers prioritise different aspects of the experience and will choose where to shop based on what matters most to them.
- On the shop floor - Waitrose (1st), M&S Food (2nd) and Lidl (3rd) take the podium spots, with friendly, engaging colleagues who are readily available and willing to help when needed.
- Speed and efficiency - Morrisons and Aldi had the shortest queue length (average 1.1 people), with Morrisons offering the shortest average wait time of 1 minute 54 seconds. Waitrose performed best in queue management responsiveness
- For service at the checkouts - Sainsbury’s ranked highest, achieving 86.0%, with shoppers offered checkout choice and friendly interactions
Conclusion: Why Mystery Shopping Matters for Supermarkets
This snap-shot mystery shopping exercise highlights the different strengths of each Supermarket and provides actionable insight into what customers are currently experiencing. Whether benchmarking performance, training teams, or improving consistency across regions, Mystery Shopping helps supermarkets to understand what the customer experienced and identify where focus is needed to drive measurable improvements.
At ABa, we’re experts in mystery shopping that makes a real difference. Our tailored programmes reveal exactly what your customers experience and provide the insights you need to improve service, train teams, and grow loyalty. Get in touch to find out how ABa can help you embed the operational excellence that drives customer satisfaction, customer loyalty and commercial success.
i Aldi, Asda, Lidl, M&S Food, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Waitrose (n=80)
