Waitrose has been named as the surprise winner of a poll by BBC consumer programme Watchdog to find the UK's favourite supermarket. More than 36,300 consumers took part in the online poll, run on the Watchdog website.
21% of voters cited the upmarket retailer - or online partner Ocado - as the supermarket where they would prefer to do most of their shopping. Sainsbury's came in second with 19% of the vote, ahead of Tesco (15%), Asda (14%) and Morrisons (10%). Marks & Spencer claimed just 9% of the vote, although 35% of voters said it offered the best quality food, ahead of Waitrose on 29%.
Waitrose also scored highest for shopper satisfaction, with 85% saying they were 'very satisfied' with the shopping experience.
However, Asda was voted as the best-value supermarket by nearly 25% of the respondents, ahead of arch rival Tesco with 16%. Only 1% of voters thought Somerfield offered the best value.
Price, quality and convenience are all equally important, with all three cited by 26% of participants as the single most important factor in determining where to shop.
Interesting to note that Asda was voted the best-value supermarket and yet Waitrose still came out top in the poll. Obviously, although price is important, it isn't the be-all and end all even during a crisis. Customer satisfaction is more important than ever in times of recession, as retailers are battling to retain customers and the results of this survey suggest that Waitrose has got it right.
Do you agree with the survey results? Which is more important to you; price, quality or convenience or do they all play a part in your decision making?
I am not sure that Waitrose coming top is such a surprise given that the question was phrased in terms of "would like to do their shopping". I think the big surprise is M&S coming so low - particularly when the survey recognises teh quality of the food.
If I could shop at Waitrose for Tesco/Asda prices I would be a happy man!