Attention shoppers: Australia’s best supermarkets have been named!

Australia’s best supermarkets have been named, and the results are nowhere near what you’d expect, with household names such as Woolworths, Coles and Aldi not even making the top three.

Choice surveyed more than 3,100 supermarket shoppers and it seems that when looking for a supermarket, Aussies desire a good range of products and the availability of locally produced foods. Interestingly, despite the major chains having hundreds of stores around the country, the little guys still came out on top for customer satisfaction.

The highest-ranked supermarket (with 82 per cent) was South Australian-based Foodland, followed by South Australian/Queensland-based Drakes (79 per cent) and New South Wales-based Harris Farm Markets (78 per cent).

The results were not too dissimilar from 2019’s survey, which also favoured Foodland and Harris Farm. The chains received the highest overall scores for supermarket satisfaction and rated higher than their competitors across various criteria, including range of products and brands available, and the availability of locally produced foods.

The three state-based chains beat out Coles and Woolworths for the top spots, with Jonathan Brown, Choice consumer advocate, saying respondents favour local produce. “The Choice Supermarket Satisfaction Survey found Australians have a lot of pride in local brands and food,” he said. “The results are clear: Australians want a wide range to choose from, and fresh, local food.”

The consumer advocacy body says Harris Farm is a clear winner for the quality of its fresh produce.

Next on the overall satisfaction list — but first if you’re after value for money — was Aldi. Choice says Aldi is repeatedly ranked as one of the best choices for value for money, though Costco usually rates well, too.

While Woolworths and Coles scraped in at numbers eight and nine (out of 10), Choice says it’s not all bad for the big chains, which saw a marked improvement on 2019’s satisfaction results. “[It’s] … great to see that all the major supermarket brands have largely improved since our last survey, despite all of the challenges of Covid-19,” says Brown. 

The chains, which have more than 800 stores around the country, also ranked highly in other criteria. For store appearance, layout, clarity of unit pricing signage and the amount and availability of specials and discounts, Woolworths ranked above average. Both Coles and Woolworths were rated above average for the availability of the preferred type of checkout, the range of products and brands, and the ease of using trolleys and baskets.

Here’s how Australian supermarkets rank:

• Foodland (overall score 82 per cent)
• Drakes (79 per cent)
• Harris Farm Markets (78 per cent)
• Aldi (75 per cent)
• Costco (75 per cent)
• IGA/Supa IGA (74 per cent)
• FoodWorks (72 per cent)
• Woolworths (71 per cent)
• Coles (69 per cent)
• Friendly Grocer (67 per cent)

After a year of panic buying, grocery stockpiling and product purchase limits, it comes as no surprise to hear that our shopping habits have changed since the pandemic. Choice’s annual supermarket survey also decided to study the effect on online shopping, with the results showing the increase in shoppers choosing to go digital is a trend that’s likely here to stay.

When ranking the two big chains (Coles and Woolworths) against each other for online experiences, it was Woolworths that took the crown for online shopping in 2021. Woolworths scored 74 per cent and Coles 71 per cent for online shopping satisfaction, while 88 per cent of respondents would recommend Woolworths online to their friends, compared with 82 per cent for Coles.

“It was a close race between Coles and Woolworths when it came to scoring their online services, but Woolworths came out on top, with their customers impressed by the level of detail and their customer service online,” says Brown. “With Covid-19 accelerating the shift online, the quality of their online services will only become more important for supermarkets.”