Supermarkets play a huge role in everyday life and for many people it can even be classified as a social event. However, they may not be as super at customer experience as you might think! It is vital for supermarkets to understand their customers and ensure they are providing a positive customer experience to increase customer lifetime value.
We analysed over 11,000 mentions regarding five leading UK supermarkets using our customer experience analytics tool Emotics. The analysis gives us better insight into which supermarkets are providing the best and worst customer experience and how. The data is assessed across 8 emotion indexes to better understand how consumers feel towards each brand, and what themes are driving these key emotions.
Our analysis revealed that Aldi came in first place with their customers talking with more positive emotions than each of the other supermarkets. Morrisons placed second, whilst Tesco ranked third and ASDA came in fourth position. Sainsbury’s ranked in last in our analysis, so let’s take a deeper look at the analysis to find out why!
1
Aldi topped our analysis with their winning Adorescore of 49, as they proved they give their customers the best experience. High emotions of trust were driven by mentions of “fitness” as Aldi’s latest campaign is promoting health and fitness by running a competition to win one of their fitness trackers.
Needing some #fitness #motivation? These will help! RT to WIN an Activity Tracker. https://t.co/Gg26B1DV8m pic.twitter.com/ac8p73vpzg
— Aldi Stores UK (@AldiUK) August 15, 2017
Aldi’s bargain prices and good quality items drove high emotions of joy which results in better customer experience. Aldi’s ability to offer good quality items at lower cost to the consumer greatly improve their brand image and promotes brand loyalty.
Smells divine thanks @AldiUK ! A bargain. My bank balance is not a fan of my usual purchases. #candleaddiction pic.twitter.com/HJa25wl8Xa
— Laura Hodge 🦄 (@loquacious_lau) August 12, 2017
Went in for beers and came out with a 5 piece handheld vacuum with 50% off #aldiplottwists #bargain
— Just Jim (@JimEdwards320) August 16, 2017
2.
Morrisons came in second place with an Adorescore of 41. Trust levels were increased by mentions of “well done” as customers congratulate Morrisons for their heavy involvement in helping charity organisations. Emotions of joy were high due to the supermarkets all inclusive signs, with one of their disabled toilets reading “not every disability is visible”. Customer’s commended Morrisons for their positive stand against discrimination which greatly improves customer experience.
https://twitter.com/the_MFoundation/status/897405020429324288
Fantastic signage. Well done Dumfries @Morrisons pic.twitter.com/CizFOPo7GB
— Samson (@SamsonOT) August 14, 2017
Companies who play a significant role in the community by helping those around them provide better customer experience and are more likely to gain brand advocates as customers share their positive experiences online and promote a strong brand image.
3.
In third place is Tesco with an Adorescore of 39. Trust levels were high as a result of customer’s congratulating Tesco on their good customer service. Individual employees who work hard to be helpful and friendly are vital to positive customer experience, which highlights that large supermarkets must work hard to ensure that customer service is provided across all levels of the business.
@Tesco guys I just wanted to compliment Sue on the customer service desk on Aylesbury broadfields store her service skills are top level
— Robert Baker (@RobsonB23) August 16, 2017
However, Tesco have not managed to crack the best customer experience as their Adorescore was pulled down by high emotions of sadness. Increased levels of sadness were driven by Tesco’s home delivery service with customer’s complaining that deliveries were late with no explanation and some items in the delivery were damaged. Customer frustration as a result of these issues has lead to poor customer experience which Tesco must work hard to resolve.
https://twitter.com/vb__1980/status/897834424598966272
@Tesco any reason my delivery arrived-damaged-almost a full 2 hours after the end of the delivery slot? Why promise what you can't deliver?
— Hannah White (@hannahrosewhite) August 16, 2017
4.
Asda ranked in fourth place closely following Tesco with an Adorescore of 36. Increased emotions of sadness were driven by rude and unhelpful staff providing poor customer service. Long delays at the tills in store due to lack of staff led to higher levels of anger towards the brand.
@asda Again, packed store in #Taunton and only a few tills open. Not good enough. People waiting! Staff just chatting!
— phill (@mrphillsteele) August 14, 2017
These problems have led to some customers advising people to avoid shopping at Asda in preference of other supermarkets which highlights how damaging poor customer service can be to the success of the company.
Pathetic customer service from @asda @asdaserviceteam. 2 hours late, half of it missing. No adequate compensation. Back to @tesco it is
— Adam Newton (@ad_newton) August 12, 2017
5.
In last place is Sainsbury’s with a dramatically lower Adorescore of 18 as they fail to offer great customer experience. Mentions of the “Daily Mail” drove high emotions of disgust as Sainsbury’s announced their recent partnership with the Daily Mail joining their Nectar card reward scheme. Customer experience is at an ultimate low with customer’s taking to Twitter to express their anger using the hashtag #stopfundinghate which is trending to stop companies supporting newspapers, such as the Daily Mail, who they claim use hatred and fear to sell more papers. Some customers went a step further to share that they will no longer be using their Nectar cards. This negative publicity is very damaging to the brand and Sainsbury’s must be aware that the companies they choose to associate themselves with will have wider consequences. The supermarket have not yet released a statement regarding this issue which further drives emotions of anger and lowers overall customer experience.
@MailOnline Sorry @nectar I'll be cutting up my card. @sainsburys is my local store too. I'll have to drive a bit further😪
— Lisa T (@TilesiLisa) August 15, 2017
Cancelled my @nectar card as result of their deal with despicable @DailyMailUK and won't be shopping in @sainsburys for foreseeable future
— Rossy B❄️ (@RossyTweets) August 17, 2017
The results revealed that Aldi are the clear winners, offering their customers the best service and experience which is evidenced through their high Adorescore. While Sainsbury’s show how detrimental it can be for companies to ignore customer experience, as their associations with the Daily Mail has led to a viral backlash on Twitter. The supermarket’s significantly lower Adorescore, which was driven by intense emotions of disgust and anger, highlights how the brand image has been damaged and consequently the company will have to work hard to rectify this mistake.
At Adoreboard our emotional analysis tool Emotics provides a means for measuring emotional intensity around customer experiences, in order to discover the main themes driving these emotions and provide detailed customer insights to actively improve customer experience.
