Shoppers are flocking to ‘exceptional’ supermarket crowned UK’s fastest-growing
When it comes to supermarkets, we’re not exactly short on choices – from Aldi and Morrisons, to Tesco, M&S, and Sainsbury’s, there are eight major retailers in the UK, plus a few others.
But none of these were just revealed as the fastest-growing supermarket in the UK – and interestingly, the one that was crowned doesn’t even have any brick-and-mortar stores.
Sharing the top spot with Lidl, it was online retailer Ocado that has seen the largest growth over the 12 weeks leading up to November 3, according to new data from Kantar, with sales up by 9.5% over this period.
The ecommerce giant is known for selling M&S products, but also just improved its own-brand range, adding more than 100 new items to its selection. And there’s still more to come, with the total number of own-brand products expected to rise to over 740 by the end of the year.
Recent additions to the range include baked beans, with the supermarket now offering almost 50 different varieties on their site – everything from Heinz to their own version.
And in terms of prices, the retailer isn’t quite as expensive as you might think. It has a price promise for customers, matching like-for-like shops to Tesco, and if for any reason there’s a difference in the cost, they’ll send you a voucher.
Shoppers have praised the ‘good value’ in reviews on Trustpilot, with Carolyn giving five stars and writing: ‘Each time I have ordered from Ocado, I have had a pleasant experience. Polite drivers very helpful, produce good sell by dates and in good condition.
‘Have even had drivers call me before the allotted time slot saying they were running early and would it be convenient. Good communication, can buy products on there that I can’t get anywhere else ie tesco. Ocado own-brand is good value and very fresh too.
‘The option of also getting the odd marks and Spencer treat is also great, especially coming up to Christmas and wanting to stock up. Recycling bag scheme very good and good value time slots too. Satisfied customer.’
While Sally Jeapes said: ‘Excellent service in every respect. Excellent delivery service. On time. Excellent products. Made to feel valued as a customer. Very good value, lots of offers.’
A reviewer known only as Peter was also a very happy shopper, saying: ‘Amazing service so far, have been using them for a month and every delivery so far perfect. Love the price matching they do and the support with any product issues. a couple of broken eggs and they refunded them without any questions.
‘Drivers always prompt and polite. They even call you if they are running early to see if it is ok for them to come to you. Seriously impressive service so far.’
And Paul Redgrave thought Ocado was ‘exceptional’. He added: ‘I have had weekly deliveries from Ocado for the past four months. I have always been an early bird getting up at 04.30. Their warehouse at Andover is 54 miles from my home in Bournemouth. Without exception my delivery driver is on my doorstep at 06.45. Everything about their organisation is exceptional. Ease of ordering very polite customer service staff and superb helpful delivery drivers. I have always received everything I order. I also like the deliveries in carrier bags. I can unpack when I want instead of having to unload the tray while the driver is waiting which other supermarkets employ.
‘All of their items are of good quality and reasonably priced. I previously used to use Asda whose store was 3 miles from my home and they had difficulty delivering on time and I constantly had substitutes. Thanks to everyone at Ocado for your exceptional service. I will never go elsewhere.’
In addition to Ocado being named the fastest-growing retailer, Lidl was also top in the rankings, for physical supermarkets.
Lidl scooped top marks for the 15th period in a row, gaining 326,000 new shoppers and an increase in fresh produce sales, which grew by 22%.
This comes after Lidl recently announced they would be rivalling the famous Coca-Cola Christmas truck with their own Freeway Cola Truck tour.
The 15 tonne, 20 metre long truck will be setting off on a tour of Great Britain from November 14, heading to locations such as Dundee, Hull, Wolverhampton, Bournemouth, and Southampton, and along the way people will have the chance to score some fun freebies.
Lidl says the truck will ‘grant wishes’ and hand out more than 2,000 Middle Aisle present boxes. These will be similar to the mystery boxes the supermarket sold in August for £20 each, but this time they won’t cost you a penny.
The contents inside each of the boxes will be different, so the value of them will vary, but it could be up to as much as £100. What’s more, one in 10 of the boxes will contain a golden ticket – a coupon worth £100, that you could use for your Christmas shop at Lidl.
A number of present boxes will be given out at each stop to visitors on a first come, first served basis.
Each stop on the Freeway truck tour will also feature a pop-up wonderland, and while there visitors are able to submit a wish that would make Christmas magical for them. Once they’ve been collected, the retailer will then grant a number of wishes, making dreams big or small come true.
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