Asda tops list for supermarket substitutions, Which? survey finds

Asda shoppers are the most likely to receive substitutions in their online grocery orders, according to a new survey by Which?.

The research found that nearly half (47%) of Asda shoppers reported receiving a replacement item in their most recent shop, the highest of any UK supermarket.

The grocery giant, alongside Morrisons and Iceland, scored just two out of five stars for the suitability of its substitute items, while no supermarket achieved a rating higher than three stars.

Meanwhile, Ocado and Waitrose had the fewest substitutions, with only one in five customers affected.

Asda told the consumer watchdog: “We always let our customers know when their order contains a substitution, and customers are able to opt out of receiving any at all.

We always do our best to ensure that the customer receives a relevant sub if an item is missing, and we have colleagues to ensure that the best substitutions are being made.”

The retailer added that its own data shows that the “vast majority” of substitute items are accepted and overall customer satisfaction is “high.” It has asked Which? to provide details of the orders to “investigate” them.

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Which? also asked shoppers about the strangest substitutions they had received in the past 12 months, with one Morrisons customer claiming they had received sanitary towels instead of sandwich wraps.

Another said fish steaks had been replaced with lemon cupcakes. A Sainsbury’s shopper reported being sent beef dog treats instead of beef steaks and another said they got leeks instead of flowers.

At Tesco, customers told Which? about receiving orange-flavour vitamins instead of a Terry’s Chocolate Orange and toilet rolls in place of tissues, while Asda shoppers said they had received a roasting tin instead of roast potatoes and bananas instead of pizza.

An Iceland shopper said that pasta was delivered in place of a 24-pack of Pepsi Mango, while an Amazon Fresh customer said that six bags of jelly sweets had been delivered instead of free-range eggs.

Sainsbury’s told the watchdog: “If a product a customer has chosen for their groceries online order is no longer available, our colleagues are trained to pick an alternative that’s as close as possible to the original item.

“We’re sorry that on the rare occasion this might not be quite right, our customer satisfaction scores tell us that our substitutions have improved over the last few years.”

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