Aldi has been crowned the UK’s favourite supermarket according to Which? – but it’s bad news for the big four
The budget store’s special offers rated well, as did the quality of its fresh and own-label products and the ease of finding items on the shelves
ALDI has been crowned the UK's best supermarket after beating-off competition from last year's winner Waitrose, in a major survey by consumer group Which?
The German bargain store, known for its flash sales, was praised for its "fantastic prices” as well as its “always improving” selection of food.
Posh supermarket Waitrose has been knocked off the top spot, which it held for three years.
It dropped to fourth position, while its customers gave it a two star rating for value for money, in contrast to Aldi’s five.
Marks & Spencer came in second place in the survey with five star ratings for store appearance, quality of own-label products and the quality of fresh products.
Aldi's rival Lidl came second with five stars for value for money, although it had a poor rating when it comes to queuing time, staff availability and range of items.
Meanwhile, the so-called big four supermarkets - Tesco, Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s - languish at the bottom of the in-store survey.
Sainsbury's came at the very bottom of the ranking.
Its shoppers were least impressed with its special offers and value for money.
A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said they were baffled by the results.
The supermarket said: "According to their survey, our stores outperformed the top-ranked supermarket on almost all measures: on store appearance, queuing time, staff availability and range of products and matched it on quality of own-label products and fresh products.
"On the basis we came out top in most categories, we’re confused by the methodology used to create these questionable rankings.”
Matthew Barnes, from Aldi said: "We’re over the moon to be named the Best Supermarket in the Which? Annual Customer Satisfaction Survey voted for by UK shoppers.
"At Aldi, we’re proud to offer fantastic quality products at amazing prices and to be named the UK’s favourite supermarket shows just how much we are resonating with shoppers."
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Online, frozen food specialist Iceland claimed the top spot for the third year running, sharing it with Ocado for the first time.
Alex Neill, managing director of Which? , said: “With food costs rising it seems as though shoppers have felt the pinch and are voting with their feet and wallets.
"Aldi and Lidl have won over their customers with value for money, knocking Waitrose off the top spot.
"The big four supermarkets need to up their game or risk losing their customers to other supermarkets who are doing a better job of giving people what they want."
Which?'s survey of nearly 7,000 people, is the latest acknowledgement from the Brits that the budget supermarkets offer quality as well as good value.
BUDGET SHOP BOOM Aldi and Lidl now take £1 of every £8 spent by Brits in supermarkets
The budget supermarkets have triggered a supermarket price war among the traditional retailers, which have been cutting prices to win back shoppers.
It also comes as several household names have embarked on job cutting drives recently, including supermarket giant Tesco.
Just last week, Morrisons announced it is slashing around 1,500 shop floor roles.
As part of the changes, the supermarket revealed its intention to erase the position of warehouse managers in every store.
Sainsbury's announced plans to shake up its management, putting thousands of jobs at risk in the process.
Last month, Tesco revealed its intention to simplify operation, putting 1,700 roles at risk, in the latest effort by the UK’s biggest supermarket chain to cut costs.
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