The Spanish Organisation of Consumers and Users (OCU) regularly surveys supermarket customers. For example, to find out what their favourite supermarket is to buy fresh meat and fresh fish.
The result of the latest survey of Spanish supermarkets – conducted among 5415 consumers – is described in the magazine Compra Maestra.
It is a difficult year for the supermarket sector. The sector is facing inflation, shortages due to the war in Ukraine and also transport strikes. This makes the average Spaniard even more critical of the quality of the offer of the main supermarket chains. Thus, the reason for the OCU to have respondents rate different aspects of the two supermarkets they visited the most (or one if they are loyal to only one chain). Their ratings therefore show which supermarkets – according to the users themselves – are most recommended to fill the fridge or pantry.
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Meat
In the case of meat, butcher shops have been the place of choice to buy fresh meat for many years. However, due to lack of time and busy family schedules, more and more customers are opting for the quick route: buying from the supermarket itself. But not all suppliers pass with flying colours. According to the OCU survey, Día (with 62 out of 100 points) and Mercadona (with 64 points) are rated the worst by users when it comes to butchery products. At the other end of the spectrum, with better scores, are Hipercor (86 out of 100), El Corte Inglés (83) and Supercor (80).
Fish
According to the OCU, 84% of consumers buy fresh fish from convenience stores or markets Of the 16% who do go to the supermarket, Hipercor (85 points), El Corte Ingles (84) and Supercor (81) also have the best ratings. The least satisfied customers are with Aldi (with 58 points) Covirán (with 59) and Lidl with (60 points).
Shopping pattern
Finally, this survey shows that the majority of users (57%) go to the shop between once and twice a week, and they do so by car (59%). That is 2% less than in 2021. Furthermore, mornings and midday are by far the favourite times for shopping. Only 17% say they shop on weekends and proximity to home or work is the main reason for choosing a particular chain.
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