Waitrose in Oxford ranked among the best supermarkets

Supermarket industry magazine The Grocer sent the mystery buyer to several supermarkets across the city and beyond to see which is best.

It said the supermarket performed well on availability, praised its layout and helpful staff members who work there.

A spokesperson for The Grocer said: “In keeping with its relatively prosperous 542,000 population, it was Waitrose that took the win this week with 83 points to be crowned Oxford’s best supermarket.

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“The 24,727 sq ft store on Botley Road, just a mile west of the city centre – one of six Waitrose stores in the city – performed well in most areas other than availability, where it registered two items out of stock and two not stocked.

“Nonetheless, our shopper praised the ‘great’ layout and described the store as ‘clean, tidy and litter-free’ with ‘a good range of products available’.

“She also noted it was ‘easy to find a staff member for help’ and felt everyone she interacted with was ‘very knowledgeable about the location of products’.”

Sainsbury’s in Heyford Hill took second place, praised for being “fairly modern” inside while Tesco in Cowley was third and Morrisons in Carterton came in a close fourth.

As reported, Asda in London Road, Wheatley was ranked as the worst by The Grocer’s mystery shopper.

The supermarket was described as “very tired and messy” with “rubbish all over the floor”.