Fish steaks instead of cupcakes and sanitary towels instead of sandwich wraps are among some of the worst supermarket substitutions, according to a new survey.
A survey of more than a thousand online grocery shoppers by Which? found three in ten (29%) reported having an item substituted in their last order.
Asda shoppers were the most likely to report a replacement product, with 47% reporting getting something else in their shop. The retailer getting two out of five stars for its choice of substitutions.
Customers said they received received bananas instead of pizza, a roasting tin instead of roast potatoes, while one said they had been given a type of facial cleanser, micellar water, in place of drinking water.
A third of Sainsbury’s customers (32%) said they received a substitution, but the supermarket was given three out of five stars – suggesting shoppers were generally happier with what was sent out. But among the most bizarre examples reported to Which? were beef dog treats instead of beef steaks, and leeks instead of flowers.
Three in ten Morrison’s customers had received a replacement item, but it too only managed two stars for the choice of these. In appropriate examples included sanitary towels instead of sandwich wraps and fish steaks in place of lemon cupcakes.
Meanwhile an Amazon Fresh customer was sent orange flavour vitamins instead of a Terry’s chocolate orange, while another that ordered ham was sent cat food.
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Waitrose and Ocado came out on top, with just 21% and 19% of shoppers receiving substitutions respectively.
And while some customers saw the funny side, those with dietary restrictions were less than impressed. Multiple customers complained about getting meat and dairy instead of vegetarian and 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 received an item containing gluten when a gluten-free item had been requested.
What can you do if you receive the wrong item?
Reena Sewraz, Which? money and retail editor, said you can reject an item on arrival – or sometimes opt out of receiving substitutions altogether, “although your dinner plans could be disrupted if key ingredients don’t show up”.
“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,” she said.
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An Asda spokesperson said its own data showed the vast majority of substitutions are accepted by customers.
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“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,” they added.
And Sainsbury’s said: “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.”
