Aldi named worst supermarket for online order substitutions

One customer received ice cream as a substitution for fish

Consumer group Which? has named Aldi as the worst supermarket for online order substitutions.

In a report looking at the frequency of order substitutions across major supermarket chains, Which? found that Aldi was the most likely of the nice online supermarkets to put substitutions in customer orders.

It wasn’t the worst by much though. The research found 49 percent of Aldi customers had received a replacement item in their most recent shop, narrowly ahead of Sainsbury’s at 48 percent.

The third-worst offender was Asda at 45 percent, followed by Morrisons at 43 percent and Ocado at 41 percent.

Tesco came out as the supermarket least likely to give you a substitution, with 39 percent of customers surveyed saying they had received a substitution in their most recent order from the supermarket.

Among the more unusual substitutions mentioned in the report was one Aldi customer who had ordered breaded fish fillets – but received Ben and Jerry’s Phish Food instead.

Another customer from the budget supermarket said they were left confused when they received cooking oil instead of milk.

It’s not just Aldi – which was also recently named as the cheapest supermarket in 2021 – that is responsible for some bizarre swaps though.

One Sainsbury’s shopper said they received a Victoria sponge cake instead of sponge scourers, with another saying they were given beef stock in their online order instead of brandy butter.

Meanwhile at Morrisons, one customer said their order of Domestos bleach was replaced with a bottle of orange squash.

And it seems like even the pricey elite of Waitrose aren’t safe from the bizarre online substitution. One customer of the supermarket said they received tampons instead of shaving cream.

Other examples included a Tesco shopper who got duck paste instead of duct tape, and an Asda customer who received normal hens eggs instead of Cadbury Creme Eggs.

Asda maybe take the crown for most amusing/inconvenient swap as well, with the supermarket deciding to give one customer sausage rolls – instead of toilet rolls. Not ideal.

It turns out that an online swap can work in your favour sometimes though. One Asda customer was treated to three £60 bottles of whisky instead of the £25 ones they had ordered which were out of stock.

On a serious note though, Which? pointed out that the suggestions for substitutions could see people end up with products that don’t meet their dietary requirements. For example customers could be given meat instead of vegan products, or have their gluten-free items replaced with regular versions.

Which? retail editor, Ele Clark, said: “While product substitutions in your online shopping can sometimes be genuinely helpful, our research has shown that they can also be downright ridiculous.

“You do have the right to reject substitutions at the point of delivery, or you could opt out of receiving substitutions altogether – though this can result in a real headache if the key ingredient for your dinner that night is missing.

“If you do end up with a substitution that you don’t want, always contact the supermarket and ask for a refund.”

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