Waitrose review

Waitrose is known for its quality products and commitment to animal welfare and the environment, but is its food fresh and do its staff, stores and online offering give customers a great shopping experience?

In the annual Which? supermarkets survey, 195 people who had shopped in Waitrose stores and a further 86 who had ordered 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. Scroll down to see the in-store and online shopping ratings Waitrose was given.

Are Waitrose supermarkets any good?

A great in-store experience

Waitrose has moved up to joint second place, with Aldi, for in-store shopping this year. 

Customers loved its range and quality of products, the appearance of its stores, queueing times and the availability and helpfulness of staff, awarding it the maximum five stars for each.

One customer said: ‘In my opinion, I think it's one of the best stores in terms of quality and freshness of products, especially fruit and veg.'

Waitrose matched top supermarket Marks & Spencer in all measures except product range and queuing times, where it got a full five out of five stars, compared with M&S, which got four.

In terms of value for money, it rated poorly, with only two stars, which is why we haven't named it a Which? Recommended Provider for in-store shopping.

Waitrose isn't known for its low prices and it's regularly the most expensive supermarket in our monthly analysis of grocery pricing. 

One shopper commented: ‘Waitrose provides good quality and tasty products and their stores are clean and pleasant. Their prices, however, are high, so I only buy a few items from there.'

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

Is the Waitrose online delivery service any good?

Just as impressive online

Waitrose also came joint second for online deliveries together with Iceland.

Shoppers gave its range of products, as well as its customer service at collection and delivery, the maximum five stars. They were also impressed by the quality of products, ease of using the website and app, availability of collection and delivery slots and choice of substitute items, where they awarded it four stars.

One happy customer said: 'A pleasant experience. Has an easy-to-navigate site and the delivery partners are very polite, efficient and helpful.'

Another added: 'My experience with Waitrose online is good because they have a wide range of products, they're good value for money, they have good payment and delivery options, and they have good customer service staff if I need help with anything.'

Waitrose received an average of three stars on value for money and stock availability. In fact, no online supermarket got above three stars on these two measures.

While its online value for money rating isn't poor, we haven't made Waitrose a Which? Recommended Provider because it's consistently the most expensive supermarket in our monthly price comparison.

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

How fresh is the food in Waitrose 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.

Waitrose came last for freshness, with items lasting 8.63 days, on average. It also sent us two packets of minced beef that appeared to have gone off despite being within date. 

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

Waitrose in the news

In January 2023, Waitrose said it was the first UK supermarket to have its own certified compostable tea bag brand. All Duchy tea bags can be placed in a home compost bin or heap, potentially preventing more than 4.5m tea bags from going to landfill or incineration each year.

In the same month, Waitrose said it would be replacing most of its small wine bottles with cans to reduce its carbon footprint. Aluminium cans weigh a lot less than glass bottles and create less than half the amount of CO2 – there's also no limit as to how many times they can be recycled. 

In September 2022, Waitrose launched its new Food to Feel Good About brand promise, which it said would highlight its support for animals, farmers and a better future for people and the planet along with its ambition to go further in making a positive impact.

In August 2022, joining a number of other supermarkets, Waitrose announced it would be scrapping best before dates on fresh food items, removing them from almost 500, to reduce food waste.

In February 2022, Waitrose began selling potato milk from the Swedish brand Dug, which claims it's the most sustainable option available.

A month earlier, it launched 'tearless' onions (branded as Sunions), which took researchers 30 years to develop. They don't come cheap, though, at £1.50 for a pack of three versus 14p each for Waitrose's cheapest onions.

• 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.