Aldi and Amazon Fresh are worst and best supermarkets for online order substitutions

Aldi has been declared the worst UK supermarket for online order substitutions by Which?

The consumer group asked over 1,300 shoppers whether they had received a substitution with their latest grocery order, covering nine retailers. 

It found that overall, two in five had received a replacement item.

Aldi, which has a Click and Collect service and was also recently named by Which? as the UK's cheapest supermarket, was, by a narrow margin, the most likely of the nine retailers to put substitutions in customer orders, with 49% of its customers saying they had received a replacement item in their most recent shop.

It was followed by Sainsbury's at 48%, Asda at 45%, Morrisons at 43% and Ocado at 41%.

Tesco, the UK's largest grocer by market share, had substituted at least one item in the most recent order for 39% of the customers surveyed.

A contender for the most unusual substitution for an Aldi customer was Ben and Jerry’s Phish Food ice cream instead of the breaded fish fillets they had ordered.

Another told Which? they had received cooking oil instead of milk.

Amazon Fresh customers were amongst the least likely to receive a dodgy substitution, with 26% of shoppers affected. 

Ele Clark, Which? Retail Editor, says: “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.”