Ocado voted one of the UK’s worst digital experiences

Ecommerce

Ocado has the second worst online experience of all UK supermarkets according to a damning new survey.

Ocado, the pureplay online grocer, came behind every other major UK grocer except Budgens in terms of its overall digital experience, The Grocer reported.

The survey, commissioned by MullenLowe Profero, looked at supermarkets’ websites, apps, social media and email communication.

Just 45 per cent of customers said they thought Ocado’s overall experience was “good” or “exceptional”, nearly half the table leader Tesco’s 85 per cent.

READ MORE: Ocado sees shares dive 7.5% as investors raise concerns over “disappointing” expansion

In contrast Marks & Spencer, which entered into a joint partnership with Ocado to launch Ocado Retail last year, was ranked fourth behind Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda.

Amazon Fresh, the only other UK grocer without a significant physical presence, saw 54 per cent of respondents deem its digital experience good or exceptional.

“We’re seeing significant differences in consumer satisfaction within the category. Tesco and Sainsbury’s are clearly delivering a fantastic digital experience in challenging times,” MullenLowe Profero’s head of strategy Howard Pull told The Grocer.

“We’d love to see those towards the bottom of the table taking the lead from those at the top and upping their digital offers. What is clear is that some have a long way to go with issues such as availability, particularly when the expectations are so high with their customer base.”

Click here to sign up to Charged’s free daily email newsletter

Ecommerce

RELATED POSTS

16 Comments. Leave new

  • This is interesting, as it runs totally counter to my own experiences.
    Every Supermarket other than Ocado has made massive numbers of substitutions, or even cancellations of items I’ve ordered, while Ocado has had every item I’ve ordered the vast majority of time time, and when substitutes are present they’re sensible.

    Reply
  • Ocado now seems to have far more out of stock items – the lower priced are nearly always out of stock.. stock control should be a lot more precise for it being a whaehouse based supplier! Especially with their experience….

    Reply
  • I’ve always had good experiences with ocado and won’t go back to using Sainsbury or Tesco, I find there are rarely substitutions and if there are they are sensible. Items I buy are usually in stock and the products usually have a longer shelf life than the products I have got from other retailers in the past.

    Reply
  • I struggle with the ordering,often find I’ve added a whole list of favourite items I didn’t intend to
    .however the orders themselves are undoubtedly the best in quality,length of use by dates and range of items.
    However I’ve noticed that sincem and s took over you really have to travel through to find ocado own brands

    Reply
  • I was surprised as well by this. Generally Ocado’s online presence is easier to navigate than others I’ve used (Tesco, Sainsbury’s and M&S).
    However it does feel like things have slipped recently. I’ve noticed a huge increase in out of stock items, some (Ocado own brand sparkling water) seem to be perpetually unavailable. The debacle recently where many (all?) users could not complete orders was very happy handled; Ocado’s Twitter feed is poor in comparison to many of their competitors. The move from Waitrose to M&S has reduced the available product range considerably as well. It feels like senior management are too focused on selling their “tech” overseas and aren’t really trust interested in their UK business (that’s doing well, thanks to lockdowns).
    Overall, while I’m less satisfied with Ocado than I was 12 months ago, this ratings feels quite harsh.

    Reply
  • Ocado still not having a functioning app is baffling, and the strange queuing mechanisms they introduced to deal with capacity issues were strange as well.

    Reply
  • I liked Ocado when they were in league with Waitrose and I very rarely had substitutions. I have been trying to get a delivery slot for months and cannot,despite being a customer with a delivery pass for years, and so I have cancelled my pass

    Reply
  • Our experience had been very good far fewer substitutions than from others we have tried
    Quality products at sensible prices

    Reply
  • I don’t understand why they have been rated so low. Like others have said, products rarely substituted and products usually great quality although they can blip with short use by dates from time to time. I’ve never had a problem getting online and ordering from them. Customer service is great at sorting out issues quickly. My only criticism is they seem to be dropping branded goods in favor of anything provided by m and s – which reduces options. Website is really easy to use.

    Reply
  • I’m always satisfied with my delivery from Ocado. I’ve used Sainsbury’s & Tesco from time to time & they send products close to their use by dates & often substitute items. I find the Ocado website far easier to navigate than their rivals plus fresh food always comes with a long use by date. For me Ocado is number 1.

    Reply
  • I don’t understand why no one is commenting about £6.99 delivery charge its disgusting, I will never use them again

    Reply
  • I have shopped with all the major supermarkets and find Ocado to be one of the best. Subs rarely happen.. And if you need a refund on anything that might not be suitable for you, just go on the site and ask could not be easier.

    Reply
  • As a previous comment said, I too cancelled my pass with ocado due to low slot availability and for letting me down in the first lockdown when even though I had a pass I was not allowed to place orders as I was not a vulnerable customer. However, especially in the Waitrose partnership days, ocado was flawless. I still order with them from time to time. What the issue is here is that the survey was not done correctly. Ocado and M&S customers have different expectations compared to Aldi and Tesco customers. So it is expected that they would be more critical of the products and services. Hence the ocado and m&s scores are so low.

    Reply
  • Heather Mackney
    February 16, 2021 9:17 pm

    I have shopped online with Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsburys & Ocado – please, please give me Ocado every time – excellant offers, rarely out of stock & substitutes offered. Never a quibble if item dented/damaged, instant refund. This obviously is my experience, but I highly recommend Ocado, compared to the other suppliers mentioned.

    Reply
  • I’ve also used Tesco, Sainsburys, Waitrose and Iceland – Ocado is by far the best. I’ve found it easy to use, including the options to filter your choices. I rarely get substitutes. Almost the only supply problems I’ve found have been biscuits I order for a 90 year old neighbour. The ability to set up shopping lists as well as items to order weekly is great. And their flash sales offer great bargains (you see these only on checkout and can only get them on checkout.) My wife would like a button at the top to add to the current order. As for the range, it is much bigger than any other supermarket because they carry so many products not carried by M&S (or last year by Waitrose). I do wish that they carried more of M&S’s fresh baked goods but I guess that’s up to M&S and they don’t think they can meet the demand. And as the poster above says, no quibble about refunding what I paid even if I say it wasn’t that big a problem (eg leaking flour bag, obviously caused by the driver).

    Reply
    • I have to correct your final statement regarding the driver been the reason for the leaking flour !!
      Think you will find it’s how the bags are packed at the sorting stage
      The drivers are alway having to deal with these issues ! They deliver they don’t pack !!
      You should give credit to the drivers and the excellent service they give

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Fill out this field
Fill out this field
Please enter a valid email address.