MARKS & SPENCER LOSING GROUND IN FOOD RETAILING BATTLE

London, 1 June 2009. Problems with stock levels and untidiness could see Marks & Spencer being left behind in the battle for supermarket consumers, a new customer experience report concludes.

The report from brand and innovation strategists Prophet examined customer experiences of the UK’s leading food retailer brands; Aldi, Lidl, Marks & Spencer, Morrison’s, Sainsbury’s, Somerfield, Tesco, The Co-op, Waitrose, and Whole Foods.

Based on mystery shopping research conducted during April and May, Prophet found that Waitrose is the best performing supermarket in terms of exceeding the customer expectations of individual supermarkets. The positive news for Waitrose is even more impressive because customer experience expectations were higher than for other chains like Aldi and Lidl.

The report reveals that all supermarkets met customer expectations for food quality and freshness. Looking in more detail, Waitrose won plaudits for the total experience it offers customers including location, design and layout of stores, quality and range of products and stock levels, as well as helpful and knowledgeable staff who had a good attitude to helping customers. The only negative was the lack of a store loyalty card for those who do not have a John Lewis credit card.

Sainsbury’s also scored highly for the convenient location of its stores, the excellent design and layout, and their customer service (especially from aisle staff who were generally found to be very willing to leave what they were doing to help shoppers find particular products). Tesco also scored highly for the helpfulness of aisle staff, the layout of its stores, and for their parking facilities, but came just below Sainsbury’s in terms of stock levels and the efficiency and friendliness of check out staff.

At the top end of the market, Whole Foods matched the very high levels of food quality expected, exceeded expectations of cleanliness and stock levels and the expertise of staff, but was let down by the fact that shelves were too high, the check-out too slow, and the prices too expensive, even for the exceptional quality of food available.

At the opposite end of the scale, the likes of Aldi and Lidl performed well delivering expected good value with a customer experience at levels to be anticipated for discount operations.

Marks & Spencer stores did meet the high standards expected of food quality but shoppers were consistently disappointed by stock levels and general untidiness.

Vanessa Cohen, partner at Prophet said, “The research is not saying that the customer experience at Marks & Spencer is below average. It’s saying that compared to what customers expect from Marks & Spencer, the customer experience is not as good as it should be. Clearly the bar is set higher for the likes of M&S and Waitrose but while Waitrose managed to be exceptionally above expectations, M&S was a slight disappointment. It seems, M&S may have lagged as levels of customer expectations have risen, and the performance of its rivals continues to improve.”

Mystery shoppers were asked to grade 25 different criteria on a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being ‘exceptionally below’ expectations and 5 being ‘exceptionally above’ expectations. Each supermarket was graded against the level of customer experience expectation for that particular supermarket brand. None of the mystery shoppers were asked to visit the supermarket at which they regularly shop. Shoppers were also asked to give an overall grade with Waitrose averaging a score of 4.5, while Marks & Spencer was the only supermarket with an average score below the ‘at expectation’ grade of 3, gaining a 2.5 mark.

The full list of the grades (out of five) awarded during the research is as follows:

Waitrose – 4.5

Sainsbury’s – 4.2

Whole Foods – 3.9

Tesco – 3.5

Asda – 3.3

Aldi – 3.2

Lidl – 3.1

Morrison’s - 3

Somerfield - 3

The Co-op – 3

Marks & Spencer – 2.5

In all cases the quality of products, the range of produce, and its freshness matched or exceeded expectations but indifferent or inconsistent levels of customer service, excessive queues at the check out, untidiness, poor or dated in-store design, and layout all played their part in reducing scores.

More information, analysis and comment on the research project and results is available at prophet.com/customer. 

About Prophet

Prophet is a global consultancy that helps senior management more effectively use branding, design, marketing, and innovation to drive profitable growth.

Prophet has established a successful track record with a growing roster of global companies such as American Express, Cartier, Capital One, Charles Schwab, Diageo, GE, JP Morgan, Johnson & Johnson, Kellogg’s, NBC, Tata, Staples, Sarah Lee, Hill’s, Campbell’s, United Airlines and Zurich Financial.

www.prophet.com

Prophet UK Contacts

Vanessa Cohen, Partner

E: vcohen@prophet.com

T: +44 (0) 20 7420 3703

M: +44 (0) 78 1807 5831

Media Enquiries

Conway Wigg, Propeller Group

E: conway.wigg@propellergroup.com

T: +44 (0) 20 7087 2732

M: +44(0) 79 1999 2965