Sanitary towels instead of sandwich wraps? Which? reveals the worst supermarkets for substitutions

Shoppers have revealed the wackiest online grocery substitutions they received in the last 12 months in a new Which? survey, including fish steaks instead of cupcakes, bananas instead of pizza and sanitary towels instead of sandwich wraps.

According to a recent survey of over 1,000 online grocery shoppers, the consumer champion found three in 10 (29%) reported having received a substitution in their most recent grocery order, with some stating that they had received some very unexpected replacements over the last year.

Asda shoppers were the most likely to report receiving a replacement product in their last online order, according to the survey (47%), and the retailer was given a two out of five star rating for its choice of substitute items. When Which? surveyed Asda customers about examples of substitutions, one person surveyed said they had received bananas instead of pizza, another said they had got a roasting tin instead of roast potatoes and a third said they had been given a facial cleanser, micellar water in place of drinking water. 

When Which? asked Sainsbury's customers, a third (32%) said they had received a substitution in their latest shop; however, its choice of replacements earned three out of five stars, suggesting people were generally happy with what they received. Among the most bizarre examples reported to Which? were beef dog treats instead of beef steaks, while another bewildered customer received leeks instead of flowers.

Three in 10 (31%) Morrison's customers told Which? they had received replacement items in their most recent order. Like Asda, it only managed two stars for its choice of substitute items. The strangest examples reported to Which? included sanitary towels instead of sandwich wraps and fish steaks in place of lemon cupcakes.

Meanwhile, just over a quarter (27%) of Amazon Fresh* customers experienced replacement items in their most recent online shop. The retailer also received only two stars out of five for its choice of replacement items, which included one shopper who told Which? they received six bags of jelly sweets instead of free-range eggs, and another who said they had a 12-pack of children's milk instead of a four-pint bottle.

A quarter of online Tesco shoppers told Which? they had received substitute items in their most recent order, but as with Sainsbury's, this retailer received three out of five stars for the choice of replacement products it sent. Of the shoppers Which? surveyed, one said they had received orange-flavour vitamins instead of a Terry's Chocolate Orange while another said they had ordered ham but received cat food.

One in four (24%) Iceland shoppers told Which? they received a replacement product in their most recent online delivery. The supermarket also received a two-star rating for the substitutes they did send. One Iceland customer told Which? they had ordered a 24-pack of Pepsi Mango and received pasta instead, another said they had got oranges instead of ham.

Around one in five Waitrose (21%) and Ocado (19%) customers told Which? that they had received a substituted item in their most recent shop. 

Some customers saw the funny side of receiving an unexpected item. One shopper told Which? that when they received coffee instead of orange juice it made them “chuckle”. 

However, shoppers with special dietary restrictions were less impressed. Which? heard from multiple customers who complained about getting meat or dairy instead of vegetarian or vegan alternatives. One customer said: “Got a chicken product despite my saying I was a vegan” Another received cheese instead of lactose-free cheese and a third shopper received an item that contained gluten when a gluten-free item had been requested.

When choosing substitutes for online grocery deliveries, supermarkets may consider factors like brand similarity, price point, and availability, aiming to provide the closest possible alternative to the originally selected item when it's out of stock. However, computer-generated replacements may be wide of the mark and pickers with targets to meet may give up on choosing a sensible swap.

While some supermarkets allow customers to opt out of receiving replacement items altogether, most will notify customers about substitutions beforehand through email or text, allowing customers to refuse the substitute if they don't want it.

All the supermarkets in Which?'s survey allow customers to hand back unwanted substitutions to the delivery driver or when they pick up a click and collect and receive a refund.

Reena Sewraz, Which? Money and Retail Editor, said:

“While some product substitutions in your online food delivery can be welcome, our research has shown that they can also be well wide of the mark - ranging from strange to completely inappropriate.

“If you receive a replacement that you don't want, you can reject it on arrival or you sometimes can opt out of receiving substitutions altogether, although your dinner plans could be disrupted if key ingredients don't show up. If you do end up with something you won't use, always contact the supermarket and ask for a refund.”

ENDS

Notes to editors:

Research

Table notes: Results based on a Oct-Nov 2024 online survey of 1,062 members of the public who are solely or jointly responsible for grocery shopping in their household.

You can also buy groceries from Morrisons, Co-op and Iceland on Amazon, with orders delivered by the supermarkets. We only asked shoppers about Amazon Fresh deliveries (Amazon's grocery retailer) but some survey respondents may have been answering about Morrisons, Co-op and Iceland deliveries ordered through Amazon.co.uk.

RORs

Which? approached Amazon Fresh, Asda, Iceland, Morrisons, Sainsbury's and Tesco about the strange substitutions reported by shoppers as part of the survey:

An Asda spokesperson told Which?:

"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. We don't charge more for substitutes, even where the item has a higher value, and where the replacement item is of less value we refund the difference to the customer. Our own data shows the vast majority of substitute items are accepted, and overall customer satisfaction is high, so we have asked Which? to provide us with the details of these orders so that we can investigate what may have happened in these instances."

A Sainsbury's spokesperson told Which?:

“We want our customers to have the best possible experience when they shop with us. 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.”