Sainsbury's review

Sainsbury's opened its first store in London in 1869, and says it wants to build on its reputation for quality, range and innovation. But does it offer great-quality food, excellent service and value for money?

In the annual Which? supermarkets survey, 407 customers who told us they shopped in Sainsbury's stores and another 155 who shopped online rated the retailer on everything from queuing time to the quality of its food and value for money. 

This enabled us to work out star ratings for different factors as well as an overall customer score.

Are Sainsbury's supermarkets any good?

Another unremarkable performance from Sainsbury's stores

Sainsbury's came joint sixth out of 10 this year along with Tesco, after coming seventh last year. 

It received good four-star ratings on all measures, except stock availability, where it was rated an average three stars, and value for money, where it received a poor two stars. 

One generally happy customer said: 'They have a good range of groceries as well as everyday products. Everything seems as fresh as it could be. I sometimes have issues with stock at Sainsbury's, especially at weekends.'

A shopper who was less impressed said: 'Quite expensive for what they offer. I only use it when I need to top up fresh bread and dairy products.'

• Find out more: see how the big players compare in our guide to the best and worst supermarkets

Is Sainsbury's online delivery service any good?

One of the best for some aspects

Sainsbury's did better online, finishing fifth. 

Customers were impressed with its customer service at collection and delivery, where it received the full five stars, as well as its range of products and the availability of its collection and delivery slots, which were also rated five stars.

It was rated a good four stars for the ease of using its website and app, and three stars for value for money, stock availability and choice of substitute items. 

One online shopper said: ‘Very good. The occasional strange substitution but never any problem getting the money refunded.'

Another added: 'Generally very satisfactory. Sainsbury's have even refunded the cost of products delivered with a short use-by date and given wine when something broke.'

• Find out more: supermarket price comparison: which is the UK's cheapest grocer?

How fresh is the food in Sainsbury's deliveries?

We went undercover to find out how the different supermarkets compare for freshness, using a team of mystery shoppers to order more than 1,000 groceries in the first – and biggest – comparison of its kind in August 2021.

Sainsbury's came fourth out of six for freshness, with items lasting 9.6 days on average. It did deliver a pot of cream that was a day past its use-by date and pre-cut carrots that went off the same day. 

• Find out more: which online supermarket delivers the freshest groceries?

Sainsbury's in the news

In January 2023, Sainsbury's launched its first drive-through in London Colney, Hertfordshire, to promote its new Flourish health range. The Flourish Fuelling Station provided free hot healthy meals overnight from 25-27 January. 

Sainsbury's said it would help solve the problem of night-shift workers, such as security guards and taxi drivers, having the unhealthiest diets in the UK, according to its own research.

Sainsbury's announced in December 2022 that it would be removing single-use plastic lids from its own-brand dips from March 2023 after already removing the lids from a range of other own-brand products, including yoghurt, cream and custard. 

It said getting rid of single-use plastic lids will save 71 million pieces of plastic a year – the equivalent of 220 tonnes of plastic. Sainsbury's aims to halve its own-brand plastic packaging by 2025.

In October 2022, Sainsbury's reintroduced its £2 top-up coupons for the government's NHS Healthy Start scheme in England every week for six months. The scheme helps pregnant women and people with children under four in low-income households buy healthy food. The coupons can be used to buy fruit and vegetables, including fresh, frozen and tinned.

In September 2022, Sainsbury's announced that it would be changing its own-brand coffee pods from plastic to aluminium, making them fully recyclable and recyclable at home.

• Find out more: what supermarkets are doing to help with the cost of living

Which? Affordable Food For All campaign

Which? has launched an Affordable Food For All campaign after it found millions of families are skipping meals to survive the cost of living crisis. 

In an innovative new study, undertaken with researchers from the Consumer Data Research Centre at the University of Leeds, we've identified 50 of the most at-risk areas for finding affordable food in the UK.

We're calling on supermarkets to commit to clear pricing, better access to budget ranges that enable healthy choices and more offers for those who need them most.

• Do you want to see supermarkets take action? Sign the petition.